Big questions hang over one of South Africa’s busiest toll routes
The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) has won a court order against road agency Sanral seeking transparency regarding concession contracts for the N3TC toll along one of South Africa’s busiest freeways.
Outa’s case revolves around Sanral’s refusal, supported by N3TC, to provide the organisation with financial records.
Outa wants to see the records to determine how much profit N3TC makes from the contract. The group made a formal request through the Promotion of Access to Information Act in July 2019.
The toll tariff (from 1 March 2022) currently ranges from R13.50 to R296, said Outa.
“The total trip from Johannesburg to Durban on the main line costs R286.50 for cars and R1,050 for heavy trucks,” added the organisation.
Outa believes that public-private partnerships have their place and can offer immense value in the state’s infrastructure development and maintenance. However, the value of returns for private companies should be transparent and publicly available.
The civil organisation suspects that people are making extensive profits through long-distance tolls. The N3TC route starts in Hilton KwaZulu-Natal and ends at Heidelberg South interchange in Gauteng.
The N3TC Concession – De Hoek Plaza, Wilge Plaza, Tugela Plaza, Mooi River Plaza and associated ramp plazas – is a 30-year concession with the private sector.
According to Outa, the Pretoria High Court has ruled in favour of the organisation, compelling Sanral to file its head of argument in response to Outa’s request for access to the N3TC toll concession contracts and all financial records for the concession.
If Sanral fails to comply, Outa said it would consider legal options.
“Transparency is very important in a democratic society. In terms of our Constitution, everyone has the right of access to information held by the state,” said Stefanie Fick, Outa’s executive director.
“Although this is not an absolute right, civil society has a right to know what Sanral is doing with South Africa’s toll revenue. Unfortunately, South Africa has too often seen the result of government and its entities operating behind closed doors,” Fick said.
E-toll
This is not the first instance of civil pushback and public outcry around South Africa’s tolling system.
Only in late 2022 was the scrapping of Gauteng’s e-toll system adequately considered by the government – following the public ‘protesting’ the imposed tolling system through mass non-payment.
In October last year, Sanral was allocated R23.7 billion from the National Treasury to settle the debt associated with its notorious e-toll system.
Under finance minister Enoch Godongwana’s new plan for the system, the Gauteng provincial government has agreed to contribute 30% to settle Sanral’s debt and interest obligation, while the national government itself pledged to cover 70% of the debt.
In early January this year, Outa, a force steadfast in holding the government accountable, pushed for further transparency regarding the settlement of the e-toll debt.
Outa has also queried why the Gauteng provincial government is paying R12 billion towards the settlement.
Outa’s CEO, Wayne Duvenage, said that there is a major concern around the particulars of payment being unclear – with the whole process being outright confusing.
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