How we access our homes, places of work, friends, family, hospitals and other critical services in Johannesburg depends, in one way or another, on the municipality's road infrastructure. In a city where most residents depend on municipal roads for transportation by car, bus or taxi, these roads serve as the gateway to exercise our constitutional rights to health care, housing, property, work, movement, and education (among others). Essentially, Joburg is a city where our roads "pave" the way to community life.
With the dust having settled after the G20 summit, many of us are optimistically contemplating what our city is capable of, while also confronting the City of Johannesburg's inability to provide the most basic services to its citizenry. This inability has led to several community efforts to organise with the objective of bridging the gap between what we are entitled to and what the City is able to provide. Community Policing Forums, anti-littering campaigns, and the Jukskei clean-up are all examples of
Joburgers taking it upon themselves to realise their rights to live in a safe and healthy ecosystem and to access municipal infrastructure that is properly maintained. However, these efforts, while noble and certainly necessary, come with the risk of drawing the City's ire, and there is constant tension between residents usurping the municipality's obligations and local government's by-laws. This tension pits our rights to participate actively in all matters of local government and to be actively engaged in our communities against the City's regulatory framework. If we focus on potholes, what can residents do when the municipality ignores their reports and road safety becomes an issue we can no longer ignore?
Section 153(a) of the Constitution requires municipalities to structure and manage their administrative, budgeting, and planning processes to prioritise the basic needs of the community. Additionally, section 152(1) of the Constitution obliges local government to ensure the provision of services to communities in a sustainable manner, promote a safe and healthy environment, and encourage the involvement of communities and community organisations in matters of local government. Municipal road maintenance is a "matter" of local government under Schedule 5 Part B of the Constitution, which in terms of section 156(1)(a), places municipal road maintenance under the executive authority of local government.
At the legislative level, section 73 of the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act, 32 of 2000 (the Act) requires the City to give effect to the provisions of the Constitution and ensure that all members of the local community have access to basic municipal services. The Act defines basic municipal services as a service necessary to ensure an acceptable and reasonable quality of life and, if not provided, would endanger public health or safety or the environment.
The City's Public Roads By-Law, published in terms of the Act, sets out a comprehensive regulatory framework for municipal roads within the City's jurisdiction and expressly prohibits certain activities unless written permission is obtained from the City. While there is no express prohibition against fixing potholes, such repair may violate these prohibitions. For example, section 6(1) forbids obstructing traffic on public roads, and section 6(4) prohibits depositing building or excavated material on a public road. Fixing a pothole involves both obstructing traffic and depositing material on the road, so prior written permission from the City is required.
The City has delegated the processing of written permits to the Johannesburg Road Agency (Pty) Ltd (JRA). The two entities have a binding service delivery agreement which lists as a mayoral priority, the repair of reported potholes within seven days. However, in practice, this mayoral priority remains largely unmet. The question then becomes: what should residents do if seven days pass and the pothole outside their house remains unrepaired?
One option is to apply for permission to undertake the repair yourself. The application must be made to the JRA for a wayleave, granting the applicant permission to work in the road reserve under the City's jurisdiction. The classifications and associated procedures for obtaining a wayleave are outlined in the JRA's wayleave application form and the JRA's
Roads and Stormwater Manual: Volume 1 – Code of Procedure, published on 30 June 2015[1]. We have summarised this procedure below in a way that is simple to understand:
Step 1: Data collection and agencies' consent
- Obtain detailed information from all relevant service agencies regarding the position of underground and overhead services near the proposed work area. This includes service agencies such as JRA Stormwater and Planning, Transnet, Egoli Gas and any other entity whose services may be impacted by the proposed work. The service agencies must be given at least two weeks prior notice to obtain this information.
- Provide the service agencies with a drawing at minimum scale of 1:500, with North point, Block plan with Stand numbers, and street names and house numbers (where possible).
- Finally, get official stamps and signatures from each agency to confirm accuracy and agreement with the proposed work. The JRA will not approve a wayleave if any relevant agency fails to comment or approve.
Step 2: Preparing and collating documents
- Complete the wayleave application form (available on the official JRA website)[2] and prepare a method statement explaining how the work will be carried out, including compliance with safety measures for traffic, pedestrians, and workers.
- Prepare three copies of your drawings, each stamped by the relevant service agencies, and three signed copies of the completed application form for submission.
Step 3: Submitting Wayleave application
- Submit the three copies of the stamped drawings; and three signed copies of the wayleave application form to the Regional wayleave offices for final approval.
- Pay the applicable processing fee (according to the 2025/2026 schedule) of ZAR 1 241.39 for planned wayleave, ZAR 1 245 for emergency wayleave, with an additional fee of ZAR 1 137.76 for a three-day prioritisation.
Step 4: Consideration by JRA Wayleave office
- Officials review the submission to ensure it meets all requirements and may impose additional conditions, which are outlined in the
Code of Practice for Work in the Road Reserve and Annexure A of the 2025 JRA Wayleave application form.
- Once approved, wayleave number will be issued, and the approved wayleave will be provided to the applicant.
Step 5: Commencement of work
- Pothole repairs may only commence once the wayleave is approved, registered and issued to the applicant.
- All work must commence within the approved timeframe stated in the wayleave. It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure that the pothole repairs comply with all conditions set out in the wayleave at every stage of the process.
Step 6: Inspection
- Once the pothole repairs are finished, notify the JRA. They will appoint a technical officer to inspect the work.
- A completion certificate is issued once the word meets required standards.
The JRA does not specify turnaround times for processing wayleave applications or communicating their outcomes and these applications ordinarily take several weeks or months. The protracted wayleave process, coupled with the City's dilatory approach to fixing potholes, therefore
requires City driven alternatives which leverage the time and resources communities bring to infrastructure maintenance while proactively working to realise the City's constitutional obligations to encourage community involvement in matters of local government.
Over the past four years, the JRA has partnered and collaborated with private entities to address Johannesburg's pothole crisis. One of the JRA's earliest collaborations was with Discovery Insure and Dialdirect, resulting in the launch of the Pothole Patrol initiative through a service-level agreement. This partnership introduced the Pothole Patrol app, which enables users to report and locate potholes for repair. Under the agreement, Pothole Patrol is authorised to repair potholes no larger than one square metre and no deeper than three centimetres. The success of this model has prompted the Department of Transport to consider expanding similar partnerships nationally.
While welcome, these partnerships are geographically limited and exclude many communities that, without viable alternatives or practical means to participate in road maintenance, remain dependent on the City's slow response. The JRA has also discouraged communities from self-initiating repairs, with the prosect of attracting legal liability ever present. For example, in early 2025, residents of Sunninghill, led by the Sunninghill Ratepayers Association, undertook independent pothole repairs due to prolonged delays by the municipality. The JRA intervened and reiterated that all road works require a wayleave and must comply with municipal procedures.
Communities and community-led organisations are expected to navigate unclear and complex procedures to participate in matters of local government. A balanced approach combining regulation with support for community-led initiatives can lead to more sustainable and inclusive infrastructure solutions across all communities.
The wayleave process, while intended to regulate interventions, is not sufficiently accessible for practical community involvement. To address this imbalance, the JRA and the City must actively encourage and facilitate community-led road maintenance initiatives. This includes providing legal guidance, technical support, and streamlined approval processes. By doing so, road maintenance is not a privilege reserved for well-resourced entities and communities, but a shared responsibility that includes and benefits all communities.
