Government, Sanral accused of lying to the public

“They are now acknowledging that they not only lied to the public then, but that they took no heed of any of the alternative funding models that were put to them in those so-called ‘consultations’,” said Justice Project South Africa chairperson Howard Dembovsky.

This follows media reports that the Gauteng government was taking a second look at e-tolling in the province.

According to The Sunday Independent, Gauteng Transport MEC Ismail Vadi said, “E-tolls still remain a valid option but there are also discussions about a provincial fuel levy or a provincial tax or shadow tolling.”

Vadi added that government would not scrap the existing e-tolls. “There will be no review of phase one of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project,” he said.

However, Dembovsky asked, “If e-tolling is to be scrapped as a means of financing road upgrades in other phases of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project and elsewhere, then why are Sanral and government being so pig-headed about retaining it for phase one?”

Meanwhile, the Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance welcomed the provincial government’s move to reconsider the future of e-tolling, but sought clarity on the matter.

According to the alliance’s chairperson Wayne Duvenage, the statements made by Vadi regarding e-tolling “shed more confusion” on the matter.

However, Duvenage said, “If indeed the scheme is questionable and regarded as ineffective, then it goes without saying that the entire scheme should be set aside until a more efficient and equitable solution is found, and not just for future road upgrade plans.”

According to the alliance, it continued to encounter a stream of public and business concerns about how the cost of e-tolls would force them into a negative financial situation.

However, despite the alliance’s support of the provincial government’s decision to explore other options for funding the construction and maintenance of Gauteng’s roads, Duvenage raised concerns about the roads agency’s stance on this move.

But the roads agency’s spokesperson Vusi Mona said it had no control over the future of e-tolling in the province as it was merely an implementer of government policy. “The funding model for roads – new, upgraded and/or maintained – does not lie within the purview of Sanral,” he said.

“We investigate multiple funding options, but the decision ultimately lies with institutions such as the… relevant government departments, both at project approval and implementation stages.”

However, Mona noted that the roads agency’s financial stability was not dependent on tolling as it only constituted 16 percent of its national roads portfolio.