I met an 83-year-old man in Pennington who’s been fixing potholes for nearly 12 years… using his own money, his maroon bakkie and a whole lot of heart.
South Coast, South Africa (20 April 2025) – Yesterday, I met a local hero in a place I had never been before, Pennington.
Pennington is a small, sun-drenched coastal village along the south coast where time slows down, the waves greet you first and all the dogs seem to know each other by name (or butt sniffs). It’s the kind of place where the milkshake at the corner café still comes with a paper straw (not because of climate change but because that’s how they’ve done it since the 80s) and where everyone seems to genuinely care about everyone else.
There’s heart here. And a whole lot of community.
But even in a place this charming, potholes don’t fix themselves.
Call it serendiptious. Or maybe fortuitous. Or perhaps just meant-to-be. But on the way to the beach, I crossed paths with an 83-year-old man named Tony Hoggins… a legend with a maroon bakkie who’s been quietly fixing the town’s potholes for over a decade.
Let that sink in.
Eleven and a half years.
Of mixing cement. Of patching holes. Of taking matters into his own hands because, as he puts it: “No one else is going to fix it.”
I’d come down to visit my parents, who’ve recently bought a property in Pennington with plans to eventually retire here. Drawn to the peace, the people and the promise of a gentler kind of life. I expected sea air, slow days and perhaps a lazy walk on the beach. What I didn’t expect… was to be reminded just how extraordinary ordinary people can be.
Tony is well-known around here. Everyone has a story. Some have seen him stop mid-errand to patch a hole. Others have helped him mix a bit of cement. Kids wave when they spot his maroon bakkie ambling through town. And more than a few locals have quietly left donations, slipped into his hand at the café, or passed through a car window, because they know he won’t ask… but they also know he won’t stop.
He does this with his own money. Every tool. Every mix. Every patch.
It’s not a funded project. It’s not backed by a municipality. It’s just Tony, his bakkie and a sense of duty to the place he calls home.
He told me it’s never been about recognition. He’s not trying to be a hero. He just saw something broken and decided to be the kind of person who tries to fix it. When I asked him what message he had for the rest of South Africa, he paused, like he didn’t want to preach, and then said something so profound: “If everybody did their little part in front of their own homes, or in their streets, or communities, then South Africa would be a very different place.”
Simple. But powerful.
Because we all know the truth, many parts of South Africa are struggling. Infrastructure is crumbling. Especially in smaller towns. Years of corruption and mismanagement have left roads full of holes and hearts full of frustration. It’s easy to feel hopeless. To believe that no one cares.
To throw your hands in the air and say, “Well, it’s not my job.”
But stories like Tony’s shift that narrative. They remind us that change doesn’t always come from the top. Sometimes, it starts at the bottom of a pothole.
Across the country, we’re seeing sparks of this same spirit. Initiatives like Tidy Towns Pennington, Tidy Towns Shelly to Margate, Better Fourways, and Better Bedfordview are proof that communities aren’t waiting anymore. They’re stepping up. Fixing what’s broken. Rebuilding what was left to decay. One street. One patch. One kind act at a time.
And Tony? He’s just one man with a maroon bakkie and a bag of cement. But in a country where too many are still waiting for someone else to fix things, he reminds us that waiting isn’t the only option.
He didn’t ask for permission. He didn’t wait for funding. He just got to work.
And maybe that’s the lesson here.
That real change doesn’t always roar in with a crowd. Sometimes, it arrives quietly… in the form of an 83-year-old with grit in his hands and love for his town in his heart.
Because if one person can do this much for one small village, just imagine what we could do together.
Start with what’s in front of you.
Fix what you can.
And never underestimate the power of simply showing up.
The road to a better South Africa might be long but thanks to people like Tony, it’s already being paved.
by 
Lovely and truly a Proud South African 👏 ❤
I’m so proud of him and his family. May he I wish him long life for ages to come!
Well done Mr Hoggins and thank you Brent for a pleasant report on something so positive and needed in these trying times. Wishing you both the very best from across the miles in London, England 🏴