‘E-tolls in Gauteng will not be around for much longer’
Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse chairman Wayne Duvenage says that he does not expect e-tolls in Gauteng will be around for much longer, adding that the failed system is unlikely to spread to other provinces.
His comments come after the government has proposed a number of new laws around the system following its dismal failure in Gauteng since its launch in 2013.
The purpose of the South African National Roads Agency Limited and National Roads Amendment Bill is to amend previous road Acts to address the public outcry which arose as a result of the implementation of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project.
The Star reported that the proposed amendments to the bill will give provincial and municipal governments additional power in the implementation of e-tolls.
“Because the manner in which the public consultation process was conducted on this project was not to the satisfaction of the public, there is a need to strengthen consultation with the Premier of a province and the municipal Council wherein the road to be tolled lies, by requiring a majority vote in favour of the proposed declaration in the relevant provincial legislature,” the drafters of the Bill said.
Read: R327 million: the insane cost to print and post e-toll invoices since launch
The Bill wants to place further check and balances on the declaration of a toll road and ensure that the general public is not further financially burdened by the declaration of a toll road by making an alternative and affordable route available.
When a new toll is proposed in a province, the premier must give 30 days for objections after the consultation process. They must also call for a referendum if objections break the threshold of 55% and above.
“We have a failed eNatis system and we have problems with the administration of traffic fines, and so we believe the context of the environment is one which e-tolling will fail in South Africa,” Duvenage told the Star.
“We believe the e-tolls in Gauteng will not be around for much longer, and the reason is that the five-year collection tender comes up for renewal in just over a year,” he said. “We believe they won’t go out for tender because they are not even collecting the amount of money required,” Duvenage said.
In June, transport minister Joe Maswanganyi said that the South African government would once again review Gauteng’s e-toll policy, in the hopes that a better one can be found.
And in his state of the province address in February, Gauteng premier David Makhura admitted that e-tolling was a mistake, promising there would be no e-tolls on new Gauteng roads.
Read: Government proposes new toll road laws after e-toll failure
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