What it costs to fix a pothole in South Africa
Potholes are a common headache for South African motorists, and the cost to repair one is hard to determine, with ranges going from R300 to R3,000.
South Africa’s road network is filled with potholes, particularly after severe weather events or on busy sections of roads.
What starts as a relatively small flaw in the asphalt can quickly become a hazard for drivers as it grows larger.
In 2024, Hippo said that approximately 80% of South Africa’s road network had exceeded its intended 20-year lifespan.
It was also estimated at the time that the cost of fully repairing the country’s roads would be roughly R200 billion.
Road networks are costly to maintain – the Cape Town municipality has set aside over R1 billion for road and stormwater system maintenance in the 2027 financial year.
In 2024, KwaZulu-Natal spent roughly R673 million over six months to repair 500,000 square metres of potholes.
This spending would equate to R1,346 per square metre, which is similar to the costs outlined by the Department of Transport, ranging from R700 to R1,500.
The Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) recently said pothole repair costs could be even lower, around R371 on average.
This is from the agency’s R36.4 million spent on pothole repairs in the 2026 financial year, to fix 97,900 potholes.
Based on an average calculation, the cost per pothole would therefore be approximately R371 in Johannesburg.
The agency said that gazetted rates, which are approximately R3,000 per square metre for pothole repairs, should not be confused with the actual cost of fixing a pothole.
It explained that the cost of fixing a pothole can vary drastically depending on its size, depth, and the extent of the underlying damage.
The JRA’s calculation came in response to Business Leadership South Africa CEO Busi Mavuso claiming that the city spent R65,000 to fix each pothole.
She claimed that the private sector could do the repairs for far less, around R7,500, but later retracted her statement about the cost.
A longstanding headache
Potholes have been a concern in South Africa for many years, and in 2022, the former president of the South African Roads Federation, Mutshutshu Nxumalo, claimed the country had roughly 25 million potholes on its roads.
The South African National Road Agency (SANRAL) was quick to refute this claim at the time, noting that 25 million potholes would amount to 149 per kilometre.
Hippo pointed out that this number could be true for many of South Africa’s major roads, and that SANRAL had omitted gravel roads from its calculations.
“Many roads are cracking and crumbling (which can, of course, lead to potholes). Collapsing culverts—which direct water underneath the road to prevent flooding—cause sinkholes,” it said.
Deteriorating roads are often more than a nuisance for motorists, and can be dangerous obstacles which lead to car damage or accidents.
Hippo said that, according to a major South African short-term insurer, there were six cities which accounted for the most pothole repair claims.
These included Johannesburg and Pretoria in Gauteng, Bloemfontein in the Free State, Potchefstroom in the North West, and Pietermaritzburg and Durban in KwaZulu-Natal.
To address motorists’ concerns about potholes, many private businesses have stepped in with their own road-repair teams and pothole-reporting apps.
In Johannesburg, Discovery Insure and DialDirect partnered to form the Pothole Patrol, a dedicated team to repair roads in the city.
The initiative started in 2021 and repaired over 50,000 potholes in its first year, with a current target of repairing at least 1,000 potholes per week.
While the Pothole Patrol can only repair potholes smaller than one square metre, it works with the JRA to ensure that larger issues are reported quickly.
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