Business as usual for e-tolls, says Sanral

There may be uncertainty about the future of e-tolls, but for now it is business as usual, Sanral said this week.

In fact, the organisation said it is in the process of “debt collection”, and plans to serve about 8 000 summonses on defaulting motorists.

“A continuous process of debt collection and legal procedures are under way to collect outstanding toll fees,” Sanral spokesperson Vusi Mona told Centurion Rekord.

READ MORE: Aarto’s e-toll plan holds little good news for motorists

These summonses have already been prepared, and “are in various stages of the issuing and serving process”.

The uncertainty about the scheme comes as newly-elected ANC provincial secretary Jacob Khawe recently called for the tolling system to be done away with.

“We say ‘away with e-tolls, away’,” Khawe said in a speech at the ANC Gauteng conference last week.

However, Sanral said there had been no decision by national government to abandon the e-toll system. Therefore, motorists should continue to pay their toll fees in the meantime.

“[The minister of transport] has indicated his intention to find a solution to this matter in the shortest possible time in consultation with his political counterparts,” said Mona.

In the meantime, Mona said e-tolls remained policy and payment was required by law.

Mona said it was unfortunate that the success or failure of the system was equated to the collection of toll fees – the funding mechanism – rather than the infrastructure provided.

“The system has delivered the widening and upgrading of freeways as well as significant upgrades to 34 interchanges resulting in less congestion, four new directional, 186km of freeway lighting and 127km of concrete median barriers,” said Mona.

When asked how devastating would it be for Sanral if the e-toll system were possibly scrapped, Mona replied: “We cannot speculate on the future of the scheme. We currently await a political decision on the matter. The minister of transport is consulting with the executive, and once a decision has been taken, it will be communicated.”

Meanwhile, the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) believes that the e-toll system could be scrapped within a year.

Outa CEO Wayne Duvanhage said the government had no option but to pull the plug on the scheme, as it had failed.

Outa had previously written extensive reports on why the e-toll scheme would fail.

It recently delivered a comprehensive report to authorities, showing it now costs Sanral more to collect outstanding e-toll fees than it ultimately collects from motorists.

“There is no doubt that the system will have to be taken down,” said Duvanhage.

“While we welcome government’s call to scrap the system it is five years late.”

Duvanhage explained that the national government must first declare the roads as non-tolled roads, together with the minister of roads and transport and the president. Only then will citizens no longer be legally obligated to pay.

“Only 25 percent of motorists are paying,” said Duvanhage.

“This has been a great example of power to the people. This is South Africans telling government that if they try to introduce irrational laws, the public will not abide and there is nothing government can do about it.”

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