The poor will pay for the e-tolls debt

If you ever wanted a crystal-clear lesson in “How not to build infrastructure”, then the infamous Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP) and its hated e-tolls collection system would be hard to beat.

While it may seem motorists have won a victory after the government announced it would scrap e-tolls as a way of financing the roads, the pain for ordinary people has just been deferred. And that makes the whole scheme even more iniquitous.

Had the government been honest and open with Gauteng residents – and not allowed the costs of the project to be grossly inflated by the construction cartel – then there was a possibility, back in 2010, as the highways were being completed ahead of the World Cup, that people would have bought into the idea.

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

This would have depended on the tolls being affordable and people being convinced that the roads were a benefit. Had the government implemented a Gauteng-only fuel levy of around 30 cents per litre in 2013, the project would have been paid off in 2020.

Now, for some unknown reason, the debt owed for the GFIP has spiralled to R47 billion, 70% of which will be covered by central government and 30% by the Gauteng administration. It is still not too late to impose a provincial fuel levy – although the government argument has always been that it is impossible to “ring fence” fuel levy money.

The reality is that the general fuel levies have long since been diverted from their intended use as funding for road infrastructure. The most likely scenario is that Gauteng will be forced to cut budgets in the areas of health and education to cover its estimated R14 billion of the alleged highway debt.

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

Once again, it is the poorest of South Africans who will suffer. But, sadly, that is how the ANC rolls…