The lives of Mogale City residents remain in danger as sinkholes continue to swallow Hekpoort R563 and Zwartkops R374 roads. Despite this being a crisis, the response from Gauteng MEC for Roads, Transport, Kedibone Diale-Tlabela, has been sluggish and nearly non-existent. The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng reiterates its demand for Diale-Tlabela to urgently repair these roads, posing a danger to motorists and pedestrians.
During our oversight inspection yesterday at the R563 road, we discovered that the sinkhole that first appeared in February 2025 had not been repaired but instead allowed to expand from the edge of the road to nearly its centre, posing a threat to motorists using this provincial road. Residents are also complaining about damage to their tyres and the lack of streetlighting, contributing to accidents. Compounding these challenges, the road is on unstable dolomitic ground prone to sinkholes, with an underlying cave system increasing the risk of collapse.
We also found that the road is currently in use, contributing to its ongoing deterioration. Furthermore, no rehabilitation work is being done on this road. This contradicts an official statement by the Department of Roads and Transport, which claimed that the road has been closed since Friday, 10 October 2025, and that “appointed service providers have been making steady progress.”
The DA also inspected the R374 road near the Cradle Valley Hotel and between Kloofzicht and Glenburn Lodge in Zwartkops, where a sinkhole remains unrepaired since surfacing in March 2025. This busy road sees around 6,000 cars each weekend, along with numerous cyclists, as people make their way to various holiday spots in and around Maropeng – Cradle of Humankind. This road is littered with potholes and has become a site for many accidents.
See photo here.
While sinkholes are complex to manage, it is unacceptable that it has taken over eight months to get geo-specialists on the ground to assess the situation and implement their recommended remedial action at R563 road. The department’s failure to repair the Zwartkops R374 road, which was also devastated by a sinkhole in March 2025, is equally concerning. The poor state of these roads is not only affecting residents but is also driving businesses away and costing jobs.
We will be tabling further questions demanding clear answers on why the deadline for repairs to the R563 road was missed, and why rehabilitation efforts continue to fail despite the department receiving an additional adjustment budget of R314.9 million. We will also demand that the department provide a firm deadline for the repair of the Zwartkops R374 road.
A DA-led Gauteng Provincial Government would have done all necessary repairs before sinkholes devoured these roads to secure the safety of our people. Through safe road infrastructure, we would have ensured that this economic hub thrives and contributes to the provincial economy while keeping citizens safe.