Lesufi to clarify settlement of Gauteng’s 30% e-tolls debt

Gauteng Premier, Panyaza Lesufi will on Friday, brief the media on the latest developments surrounding the controversial e-tolls in the province.

Lesufi is also expected to share the processes to be undertaken by the Gauteng Provincial Government to settle 30% of the South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) debt, and how the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project will be financed going forward.

The newly elected premier’s address follows the pronouncement made by Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana, during the delivery of the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) for government to absorb the e-tolls debt.

ALSO READ: E-tolls gone for good, now to tackle crime and corruption – Lesufi

Who pays what?

As part of the deal, the Gauteng provincial government agreed to cover 30% of the debt, while the government, through the National Treasury, will finance 70% of Sanral’s outstanding R47-billion debt.

While Lesufi said the scrapping of e-tolls is an important victory for the province, it has also brought relief to the people of Gauteng who had to bear the brunt of paying e-tolls.

However, Lesufi said the Gauteng government will consult the people on how the 30% should be funded.

“We don’t want to make the same mistake of imposing a model. So, we will run a consultative conference with people of Gauteng on how best to settle this 30%.”

E-tolls not scrapped

Meanwhile, Dr Caryn Abrahams, senior lecture at the University of Witwatersrand’s School of Governance told The Citizen, that e-tolls had not been scrapped.

“The e-tolling system has not been scrapped. The debt owed to the national fiscus by Sanral is part of the bail-out plan, which will be covered 70% by national and 30% by GP… Irrespective of the amount, this has a broader implication for the use of taxpayer money, which could have gone to more worthy sources.”

Abrahams said more specifically, the budget cuts of R11.4 billion from education, R6.9 billion from health and over R10-billion from employment directly fund the national debt portion for funds that some argue should never have been spent on something like e-tolls.

Additional reporting by Sipho Mabena

ALSO READ: E-tolls are dead, but could lead to budget cuts elsewhere for years to come