Government’s big ‘end of e-tolls’ lie
One year after Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana promised an end to e-tolls in Gauteng, motorists in the province are still saddled with the system.
According to the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse – which has championed the fight against e-tolls since before the system’s official implementation – the continued existence of the tolls is another major failure on the part of the government to implement its own decisions.
“On 23 October 2022, in the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTPBS), Minister Enoch Godongwana announced the government’s alternative funding mechanism to address the financing of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP) debt, which involved state-allocated funds.
“This announcement sparked hope among those who have endured the frustration of the e-tolling system for over a decade. Shortly thereafter, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi confirmed that the e-toll scheme would be deactivated by 31 December 2022, and even mentioned the possibility of refunding a substantial sum of R6.8 billion to those who had previously paid,” the group said.
However, since then, both Treasury and the Gauteng provincial government have fallen silent on e-tolls. Earlier in the year, the latter indicated that negotiations were still ongoing around the funding of the debt attached to the system – but no legislation has been withdrawn; a necessary step to shut e-tolls down for good.
In August, the Department of Transport indicated that there were no plans in place to actually shut the system down. No plans had been approved, and no solutions were in sight.
Meanwhile, serious questions still linger about what the scrapping of the system will mean for Gauteng – which has to pay off 30% of the system’s debt – and how exactly Treasury even calculated the debt that needs to be paid off.
The MTBPS 2022 provided an additional R27.476 billion for Sanral: R3.740 billion through the Adjustments Appropriation Act 2022 specifically for the GFIP and R23.736 billion through the Special Appropriation Act 2022 for Sanral’s debt redemption fund.
In November 2022, Outa made formal submissions to the Standing and Select Committees on Appropriations on the MTBPS money bills and the Sanral transfers and a verbal presentation to the committees seeking clarity on these payments.
“We asked for an explanation of Sanral’s debt, the GFIP debt and what was being paid off. Parliament passed those bills, but we have yet to receive an explanation,” the group said.
In February 2023, Budget 2023 included another R2.2 billion for the GFIP, and the Transport vote referred to the R23.736 billion received through the MTBPS towards the Sanral debt as “a partial solution” to the GFIP debt, with no clear explanation of that debt.
“As we stand in October 2023, not a single step has been taken to implement the decision to scrap e-tolls. The burning questions are: What will it take for the government to honour its own commitment? What has Sanral done with the additional funds it received towards paying off the GFIP debt?”
Sanral’s Integrated Report for 2022/23 notes that the Gauteng government will contribute 30% of the outstanding GFIP debt and national government the remaining 70%. Notably, it refers to GFIP debt rather than Sanral debt.
It also noted that the R23.736 billion in the Special Appropriation Act 2022 was the national government’s “first contribution” to its 70% share.
“This issue transcends the debate between national and provincial government responsibilities; it is about the irrationality and injustice of a scheme that has burdened Gauteng motorists for far too long,” Outa said.
“The irrational e-toll system has placed an unfair financial strain on citizens, and yet the government has either failed or refused to terminate it, despite making a clear decision to do so a year ago.”
As the government dithers on shutting the system down, it keeps incurring costs.
Outa said that it cannot overlook the administrative costs incurred by the government in extending the e-toll collection contract over the last year and sending bills to thousands of motorists for a system that was ended a year ago.
“These costs represent wasteful expenditure and further underscore the impracticality of e-tolls.
“The continued delay in ending the e-tolls system is a betrayal of the trust that citizens have placed in their government. We have patiently awaited relief from this irrational system, and the government’s inaction is causing needless stress to South African motorists,” the group said.
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