Public data. Questions that matter.
Pothole Portal helps the public understand South African municipal finances, audit outcomes and reported service provision. We make source evidence easier to find, compare and question.
Independent analysis, clearly attributed
Pothole Portal is an independent project. It is not a government service, and National Treasury, the Auditor-General of South Africa and Statistics South Africa do not endorse our analysis. Official source records and our own calculations are distinguished throughout the site.
Financial resilience is our experimental indicator of financial position. It is not an official rating, an allegation of corruption, a measure of service quality or a recommendation about how to vote. We publish the formulas, assumptions and limitations so you can assess the analysis.
Where the evidence comes from
- National Treasury’s municipal data API supplies the underlying financial facts and Treasury audit records.
- AGSA’s municipal audit publications supply separately traceable audit and accountability evidence.
- Stats SA’s P9115 Non-Financial Census of Municipalities supplies reported municipal service provision and consumer-unit figures.
Each public metric identifies its reporting period and source. Retrieval dates describe when a source was captured. They do not make an older observation current. Visit data and source coverage for imported periods, gaps and refresh status.
What validation can and cannot establish
Automated imports preserve source evidence and validate municipality matching, source structure and publication checks before replacing published data. An unresolved match or missing value must remain visible rather than being invented. Failed refreshes retain the last validated publication.
These checks do not independently audit a municipality or guarantee that its submitted information is correct. Source revisions, incomplete submissions, changed boundaries and differing definitions can affect comparisons. A service count does not establish household access, supply reliability or water safety. Treasury and AGSA audit records can disagree; both remain traceable.
Corrections and feedback
Report a suspected error through the public Pothole Portal issue tracker. Include the page URL, municipality code, reporting year, affected measure and a link to the evidence supporting your correction. A GitHub account may be required. Issues are public: do not include identity numbers, account numbers, private contact details or other personal information.
We assess corrections against the source and published methodology. An official source correction and a change to our interpretation are different matters; the evidence and relevant qualifications should remain identifiable. No response deadline or guaranteed resolution is promised.
Need to report a pothole or service fault?
Pothole Portal does not receive, forward or track municipal fault reports. Use the responsible authority’s official channel. Our municipality and pothole reporting guide explains how to locate official contact information.