Staff Reporter
The Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) says it repaired 97,938 potholes across the city in the 2025/26 financial year at an average cost of R371.43 each, rejecting claims that the city spends as much as R65,000 to fix a pothole.
The city-owned entity said it spent R36,377,478.14 on pothole repairs in the current financial year, and that figures cited in a Daily Maverick article published on 7 June did not reflect its operational data.
The article quoted Business Leadership South Africa CEO Busi Mavuso as saying business could fix a pothole for R7,500 while the City of Johannesburg spent R65,000.
JRA said those figures created a misleading impression about the cost and efficiency of pothole repairs.
“For the current financial year (2025/26), the JRA has repaired 97,938 potholes city-wide at a total cost of R36,377,478.14. This equates to an average repair cost of R371.43 per pothole,” the agency said.
It said broad infrastructure benchmarks, including gazetted rates of about R3,000 per square metre, should not be used as a proxy for individual pothole repairs because potholes differed in size, depth, severity and repair requirements.
It said repair costs were affected by the size and depth of the pothole, the extent of underlying pavement damage, the repair method required, the quantity of material needed and site-specific conditions.
JRA also said it kept costs down through in-house repair teams and by producing asphalt at its own asphalt manufacturing plant, reducing reliance on external contractors and suppliers.
“The Agency is therefore concerned that alternative figures and assumptions were presented as representative of JRA operations without verification from the organisation. Such figures do not align with JRA records and do not accurately reflect the costs incurred in delivering pothole repair services to Johannesburg residents,” it said.
JRA CEO Zweli Nyathi said the agency’s figures were based on its own operational records.
“While estimates and industry averages may be used for broad national analysis, they should not be presented as JRA operational figures unless verified with the Agency. The JRA’s audited operational data remains the most accurate reflection of pothole repair performance and associated expenditure within the City of Johannesburg.”
The JRA is responsible for the maintenance, repair and development of Johannesburg’s road network and stormwater infrastructure, including bridges, culverts, traffic signals and signage.
INSIDE METROS
 says it repaired 97,938 potholes across the city in the 2025/26 financial year at an average cost of R371.43 each, rejecting claims that the city spends as much as R65,000 to fix a pothole.){kind=link}