Parliament: E-toll payments still due
Parliament’s transport portfolio committee has clarified that the announcement of a review on e-tolling in Gauteng does not mean motorists should stop paying.
“South Africans should continue to pay while hiccups are being ironed out, and while initiatives aimed at encouraging payment are being pursued,” chairperson of Parliament’s transport portfolio committee Dikeledi Magadzi said in a statement.
Last month, Gauteng Premier David Makhura announced the establishment of a panel to assess the impact of e-tolling since it was implemented on 3 December last year.
His office has since said the names of the members of the panel would be announced on 10 July.
Magadzi noted that confusion surrounding the fate of e-tolling had arisen following the announcement that the system would be reviewed, and was concerned about the potential effect it would have on those motorists currently paying for e-tolls.
The position of her committee and Parliament was that e-tolling was a legislated programme meant to generate funding, not only for the loan the SA National Road Agency Limited was servicing, but also for maintaining roads in the province.
“The pronouncement of a review task team during the opening of the Gauteng Legislature was never intended to discourage people from paying, and certainly never suggested that e-tolling has failed,” said Magadzi.
“The review task team is a matter of government, and would definitely look at an alternative funding model for the project. E-tolls are about improvement and maintenance of roads, and are definitely not a burden on the poor.”
