Potholes remain South Africa’s biggest headache as infrastructure complaints surge

Most of the nearly 5,000 complaints logged on the CityMender app this year were about potholes.

Potholes and crumbling roads remain South Africans’ biggest service delivery headache, with water leaks and electricity faults ranking among the country’s most commonly reported infrastructure complaints, according to data from the CityMender app.

The app, believed to be the world’s first publicly deployed augmented reality feature for community service-delivery reporting, recorded more than 4,860 service delivery and infrastructure complaints since the start of the year.

The second most reported complaint category was water leaks and water-related infrastructure faults, followed by electricity outages and streetlight faults.

“Potholes and road-related defects remain the largest category on the platform. Road infrastructure directly affects safety, mobility, vehicle damage and economic activity, making it one of the most visible service delivery concerns for residents across South Africa,” said founder Keyuren Maharaj.