Finance Minister Enoch Godonwana used the medium-term budget policy statement to indicate that the e-tolls in Gauteng will soon be a thing of the past.
“Uncertainty surrounding the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project [GFIP] continues to have a major negative implication for road construction in the country. We need to move on from the debates of previous years and find solutions to this challenge,” Godongwana said.
“To resolve the funding impasse, the Gauteng provincial government has agreed to contribute 30% to settling Sanral’s [South African National Roads Agency Limited] debt and interest obligations while [the] national government covers 70%.
“Gauteng will also cover the costs of maintaining the 201km and associated interchanges of the roads and any additional investment in roads will be funded through either the existing electronic toll infrastructure or new toll plazas, or any other revenue source within their area of responsibility.
“Government proposes to make an initial allocation of R23.7-billion from the national fiscus, which will be disbursed on strict conditions.”
However, Godongwana did not indicate when the agreement between the national and the Gauteng provincial government will kick in. The e-tolls have been unpopular since they were launched more than a decade ago.
Sanral is sitting with R47-billion debt relating to GFIP.
This means the national government will have to fork out R32.9-billion or 70% while the Gauteng provincial government would absorb 30% balance, or R14.1-billion.
The GFIP gantries have been recording e-toll bills against motorists since 3 December 2013. However, very little has come into the state’s coffers as road users refused to pay.
The new Gauteng political leadership under Panyaza Lesufi have made e-tolls a big rallying point since being elected a few moths ago.
Lesufi said in September: “There is something that is called e-Tolls, they must go, president (Cyril Ramaphosa),” said Lesufi.
Shortly after Godongwana’s speech, the new Gauteng Premier tweeted: “We heard you people of Gauteng. As per the announcement by Minister Godongwana we have agreed to the formulation of a new revenue enhancement model which excludes tolling. We are now ready to start a new life without Etolls in Gauteng. This was not an easy decision but necessary”
The unpopularity of the e-tolls is blamed by some in the governing party of having contributed to its steep decline in electoral support in Gauteng over the years.
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