From Potholes to Power: Parties Hit the Streets in Gauteng’s Pre-Election Repair Race

The road to the local government polls in Gauteng is paved with good intentionsand freshly laid asphalt. With elections months away, political parties have traded manifestos for tar trucks, launching high-visibility pothole repair campaigns across Johannesburg and Tshwane.

ActionSA Draws First Blood

Michael Beaumont of ActionSA was the first to hit the streets, mobilising a party repair team to fix potholes in his neighbourhood. He took to social media to crowdsource locations:

“I call on residents of Parkhurst, Parktown North, Rosebank, Blairgowrie and Saxonwold to post the details of the potholes that trouble them so we can fix them, too.”

The message was clear: while the city talks, we act.

DA Joins the Fray

Not to be outdone, DA Johannesburg mayoral candidate Helen Zille and Tshwane mayoral candidate Cilliers Brink also took to the streets this month, cameras in tow, to campaign and repair potholes.

Zille visited Linbro Park, where a burst water main had recently been repaired. The optics were unmistakable: the DA, too, is hands-on.

Mashaba’s ‘Operation Fix Joburg’

ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba, now officially the party’s Johannesburg mayoral candidate, has launched what he calls “Operation Fix Joburg” a sweeping promise to double the pace of infrastructure renewal.

Mashaba points to his previous record: “When I served as mayor, we replaced more than 200km of water pipes and 160km of sewer pipes in just three years. Water losses were reduced significantly.”

He also cites 938km of roads resurfaced and 88km of gravel roads upgraded. “That was the result of disciplined budgeting,” he said.

His pledge: “We will restore that momentum and over the five-year term, we will at least double the pace of pipe replacement and road resurfacing.”

Tshwane’s Tech Approach

In the capital, the city itself is getting in on the actwith an assist from technology. MMC for Region 4 Kholofelo Morodi announced significant service delivery milestones for January, including the repair of 1,459 streetlights and an accelerated drive on pothole repairs, stormwater maintenance, and tree pruning.

Morodi confirmed that the city is rolling out Jetpatcher technology in Centuriona rapid pothole repair system that promises faster, more durable fixes.

The Politics of Asphalt

The pothole frenzy is more than infrastructure maintenance; it’s a political statement. In a country where service delivery failures dominate voter complaints, fixing a pothole is visible, tangible, and immediate. It says: we care, we act, we deliver.

For ActionSA, it’s proof of concept. For the DA, it’s defending a reputation for clean governance. For residents, it’s a rare moment of attentionand a chance to see politicians doing something other than talking.

The question, as always, is whether the repairs will outlast the campaign. Will the pothole-fixing fervour continue after the votes are counted? Or will the asphalt cool along with the political temperature?

For now, Gauteng’s roads are smoother, and the race is on.