Gauteng Government’s e-Toll Debt Doesn’t Add Up – OUTA

The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) said that the Gauteng provincial government’s e-toll debt did not add up.

Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi recently announced delays in finalising the agreement with National Treasury to deactivate e-tolls, adding that they wouldn’t meet the 31 December deadline set by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana to decommission the system.

Sanral has been struggling to recover the R47 billion owed to them by motorists.

Godongwana has said that government would take on 70% of Sanral’s debt and the province, 30%.

But Outa’s executive director, Advocate Stefanie Fick, said that the e-tolling system only covered 1% of their roads.

“Eighty-six percent of Sanral roads are being maintained by government grants. The question is why should Gauteng pay anything for any of its roads? You know Sanral thought they were going to get 34% of their income from only 1% of their roads, so we need to see it from that perspective.”

Fick urged the 17% of Gauteng’s motorists who were still paying e-tolls to stop.

“Since March 20019, Sanral says it will stop chasing debt and there are no consequences for those who don’t pay,” Fick said.