More than 30 vehicles had their tyres damaged in less than 24 hours last week between Thursday and Friday morning by a monster “pothole from hell” on Voortrekker Road, the R102 in Wilsonia.
The Dispatch fielded a number of calls from motorists, mostly taxi operators who wanted to sue Buffalo City Metro (BCM) for failing to fix the pothole, which they say has been there for the past two months.
On Thursday night alone, according to a local resident, 17 vehicles were damaged and on Friday morning another 14.
Four vehicles, mostly Toyota Avanzas, hit the pothole while the Dispatch team was on the scene speaking to other victims.
Pearl Majokwe-Tokwe, from Mthatha, damaged two tyres on her VW Polo vehicle.
She was not aware of the pothole as she had recently arrived from Johannesburg.
“This left me traumatised as I was travelling with two little children.
“I heard the first tyre hitting that pothole and the next thing when I am checking, my two tyres are damaged,” she told the Dispatch. “I will claim for this, it will cost me up to R4000 to fix.”
Another driver, Monde Maweni, said he had to delay his trip as he had no spare wheel.
“I damaged a wheel last week driving in Duncan Village and I had no money to fix that tyre, and now this.
“Why is the municipality not fixing these potholes? They are costing us,” he said.
Summerpride resident Silumko Bushula, who has been a Samaritan to many motorists, says he hears the sound of bursting tyres on the road almost daily.
“I will always go help those who are victims. If I count properly, today this could be the 50th vehicle to damage its tyre here since early November,” said Bushula.
“Some people are coming from other provinces and they will come knock at my house and I will keep their vehicles safe.”
BCM spokeswoman Bathandwa Diamond said Voortrekker Road was not the municipality’s responsibility as it fell under the roads and public works department.
“The city has a programme to fix potholes. Residents can call 043705-9220/9223 to report them.
“People can report their damaged tyres on the fourth floor of the Trust Centre Building in Oxford Street, East London, if the incident happened on a BCM road,” said Diamond.
Roads and public works spokesman Mphumzi Zuzile yesterday said the pothole had now been fixed.
He said motorists who wanted to lodge a claim needed to follow a certain process. “Those who are claiming should bring a picture of the road, the pothole, the damage, a detailed police report and insurance details if they have. We will then take this to our legal department, who will take it to the state attorney to advise if we are liable for those damages. Alternatively, people should report it if they see potholes on our roads,” said Zuzile.
The pothole was fixed on Friday by a contractor who said he had received a call to fix it. He would not say if public works or BCM had contacted him. — bonganif@dispatch.co.za
Pothole damages stream of cars
The Dispatch fielded a number of calls from motorists, mostly taxi operators who wanted to sue Buffalo City Metro (BCM) for failing to fix the pothole, which they say has been there for the past two months.
On Thursday night alone, according to a local resident, 17 vehicles were damaged and on Friday morning another 14.
Four vehicles, mostly Toyota Avanzas, hit the pothole while the Dispatch team was on the scene speaking to other victims.
Pearl Majokwe-Tokwe, from Mthatha, damaged two tyres on her VW Polo vehicle.
She was not aware of the pothole as she had recently arrived from Johannesburg.
“This left me traumatised as I was travelling with two little children.
“I heard the first tyre hitting that pothole and the next thing when I am checking, my two tyres are damaged,” she told the Dispatch. “I will claim for this, it will cost me up to R4000 to fix.”
Another driver, Monde Maweni, said he had to delay his trip as he had no spare wheel.
“I damaged a wheel last week driving in Duncan Village and I had no money to fix that tyre, and now this.
“Why is the municipality not fixing these potholes? They are costing us,” he said.
Summerpride resident Silumko Bushula, who has been a Samaritan to many motorists, says he hears the sound of bursting tyres on the road almost daily.
“I will always go help those who are victims. If I count properly, today this could be the 50th vehicle to damage its tyre here since early November,” said Bushula.
“Some people are coming from other provinces and they will come knock at my house and I will keep their vehicles safe.”
BCM spokeswoman Bathandwa Diamond said Voortrekker Road was not the municipality’s responsibility as it fell under the roads and public works department.
“The city has a programme to fix potholes. Residents can call 043705-9220/9223 to report them.
“People can report their damaged tyres on the fourth floor of the Trust Centre Building in Oxford Street, East London, if the incident happened on a BCM road,” said Diamond.
Roads and public works spokesman Mphumzi Zuzile yesterday said the pothole had now been fixed.
He said motorists who wanted to lodge a claim needed to follow a certain process. “Those who are claiming should bring a picture of the road, the pothole, the damage, a detailed police report and insurance details if they have. We will then take this to our legal department, who will take it to the state attorney to advise if we are liable for those damages. Alternatively, people should report it if they see potholes on our roads,” said Zuzile.
The pothole was fixed on Friday by a contractor who said he had received a call to fix it. He would not say if public works or BCM had contacted him. — bonganif@dispatch.co.za
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending Now
Latest Videos