Pothole payback — A 21-month battle for compensation

Daily Maverick

18-05-2025

Gqeberha resident Keith Murcott refused to back down after the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality dragged its heels in paying his R40,000 claim for a cycling accident caused by an enormous pothole.
'It can be done,' says Keith Murcott, well-known to many residents in Nelson Mandela Bay as the former manager of the iconic Feathermarket Hall. He's referring to his 21-month battle with the municipality to claim compensation after a serious cycling accident caused by a massive pothole. 'But you have to remember the municipality wants you to give up.'
In October 2023, Murcott (72), an avid mountain biker, adventurer, world traveller and pickleball enthusiast, hit a pothole of about 1 metre deep and 1 metre wide on the bicycle riding path next to the William Moffat Expressway in Gqeberha.
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It had rained in the city a few days before, and unbeknown to him, the road was giving way around a manhole next to the bicycle lane.
'I was coming down William Moffat at a lekker speed, hey,' he said. 'So before I could break I was in the hole.
'And next thing I know I was on the ground and my bicycle was in a huge pothole,' he said.
His helmet was cracked, and his hand was broken. He also suffered a concussion and multiple cuts and bruises.
Despite his serious injuries and suffering from concussion, Murcott managed to get himself home. His doctor referred him to hospital, where he underwent surgery on his hand.
Read more: SA pothole tales, as told by Daily Maverick readers
Bureaucratic merry-go-round
Once mobile again in November 2023, Murcott sought out his ward councillor, Dave Hayselden, who advised him to claim damages from the municipality. And so began what Murcott describes as a bureaucratic merry-go-round.
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'First I got no interest. No response. Then I went to Legal Services.
'I do want to say the officials were friendly and helpful but they are overwhelmed. In the one guy's office the files were stacked to the roof,' he said.
Between January and March 2024 Murcott sent '30, 40 and then 50 emails'.
After no response, Murcott decided to pay officials of the Legal Directorate a visit in person in September 2024.
He said he was surprised to find out that while his claims were being handled, his medical reports were apparently unacceptable.
Murcott said he was told they needed to be 'medical-legal' reports. Murcott said nobody had passed on this information for months.
'I also found out that it took them six months [after the accident] to inspect the pothole,' he said.
Eleven months after the accident, he received notification that his claim was being reviewed and approved.
'After I received this notification I thought maybe two or three weeks to get a payout? I was wrong.'
'In January 2025 I had to start the whole email campaign again,' he said.
'But then the real fun began,' he said, adding that he was on a first-name basis with many of those working at City Hall by the time he received his money.
Waiting for his money to be paid out, he found himself suddenly being sent around to several directorates for answers, which were not forthcoming.
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He ended up talking to three different chief operating officers and three acting city managers – because incumbents change often in these offices.
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'Although I never got to see a city manager, I sent a lot of emails,' he said.
'My emails were read and instructions were issued to several directorates, but nothing happened,' he said.
Murcott claimed that after months had passed while he tried to find answers, an official told him the municipality couldn't pay the R10,000 excess its insurance required.
Then he was told that the person who had to sign his settlement was hijacked and couldn't work.
This triggered another flurry of emails and visits. Finally, in April 2025 — 21 months after his accident — the money was paid out.
'We are not talking about a fortune here. It is R40,000,' he said.
'All I can say to people in a similar situation is push on; they want you to give up. […] They need your money!' he said. 'They won't come to see you. You must go see them.'
'You know what makes me angry,' he said, 'is that I didn't ask for a lot of money. I just wanted my medical expenses covered. I could have asked for a new bicycle but I didn't. And yet it took so long for them to pay me.'
The municipality's communications director, Sithembiso Soyaya, has not yet responded to a request for comment.
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Murcott said that to the credit of the municipality the dangerous pothole was filled within a week.
'All I can say now is that you will be rewarded for your perseverance.'
Pothole numbers
Nelson Mandela Bay, in its own Integrated Development Report, admitted that, according to the software it uses, residents and road users had reported an astonishing 1,616 potholes per 10km of road. As this could include duplications, the true number of potholes is not known.
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Read more: Potholes in South Africa grow from 15 million to 25 million in just five years, SA roads federation reveals
The municipality's goal is to reduce the number to 1,500, but no monthly repair data is available, as the IDP notes the figures must be 'audited.'
In a recent report, the municipality describes enormous backlogs in fixing potholes and damaged sidewalks and resurfacing roads.
Potholes ranked as the third-most complained-about issue in the city during recent meetings, after housing and streetlights.
The report continues: 'The municipality has a backlog of 630km unsurfaced roads. The cost to eliminate this backlog is approximately R7 billion.
'This backlog has occurred largely because the housing development programme, funded by the provincial government, only includes sufficient funding for gravel roads. In addition, there is a backlog of 160km sidewalks (non-motorised transport) with an estimated cost of R400-million.
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'Furthermore, the municipality continues to face the challenge of inadequate road maintenance resulting in potholes on municipal roads.
'The poor road conditions can also be attributed to the impact of climate change resulting from flooding as well as illegal use of roads by heavy goods vehicles,' according to the IDP report.
Frustrated by inaction, residents, NGOs, and political groups have started filling potholes themselves to make the roads safer. Meanwhile, civil society continues to take the manganese industry to task over road damage caused by overloaded trucks. DM