Potholed ambulance sinks KZN transport MEC

The massive gaps in KwaZuluNatal’s road maintenance plan were starkly obvious when the province’s MEC for transport, community safety and liaison, Sipho Hlomuka, was recently caught on video looking on as an ambulance was rescued from a pothole in Westville.

The former KZN MEC for cooperative governance and traditional affairs was trending for all the wrong reasons as the video clip went viral, with X users expressing shock and disgust at the all-too-familiar scene on South Africa’s pothole-ridden roads.

The incident came just months after Hlomuka outlined in an October media briefing the progress made in projects to repair flood-damaged infrastructure, as well as departmental interventions in addressing pothole patching and improving the road network.

After the video was shared on Saturday, the MEC could be seen trying to “patch up his image” by actively participating in the provincial transport department’s pothole patching programme in the Abaqulusi local municipality.

The latest incident follows the near death of Hlomuka’s predecessor, Peggy Nkonyeni, after her BMW rolled outside Ulundi in northern KZN in June 2022.

A tyre on the car was said to have burst, causing the accident – and speculation afterwards was that the blow-out may have been caused by the car hitting a pothole.

The results of an investigation into that accident have not been released.

While potholes endanger people’s lives in South Africa, they seemingly save lives in India…

According to a Times Now news report, an 80-year-old man who was declared dead by medical personnel was revived when the ambulance he was being transported in hit a pothole.

“Darshan Singh Brar allegedly owes his life to a pothole. The man had not been feeling well for several days, so one of his grandsons decided to take him to a hospital near his home.

“He was diagnosed with a severe chest infection, which also took a toll on his pre-existing heart condition and despite doctors’ best efforts, he was pronounced dead after four days on a ventilator.”

According to Oddity Central, his grandson, who was watching over his grandfather’s body, saw him move his hand after the ambulance hit a deep pothole.

He quickly checked for a pulse and, sensing one, alerted the driver to take them to the nearest hospital.

When Brar arrived at the hospital, he was breathing, had a heartbeat and blood pressure.

His family have labelled the incident a miracle and are hoping for a full recovery.