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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The purpose of the South African National Roads Agency Limited and National Roads Amendment Bill<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0is to amend previous road Acts to address the public outcry which arose as a result of the implementation of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project.<\/p>\n The Star reported<\/a> that the proposed amendments to the bill will give provincial and municipal governments additional power in the implementation of e-tolls.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause 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,\u201d the drafters of the Bill said.<\/p>\n Read: R327 million: the insane cost to print and post e-toll invoices since launch<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cWe 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,\u201d Duvenage told the Star.<\/p>\n \u201cWe 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,\u201d he said. \u201cWe believe they won\u2019t go out for tender because they are not even collecting the amount of money required,\u201d Duvenage said.<\/p>\n In June, transport minister Joe Maswanganyi said that the South African government would once again review <\/a><\/strong>Gauteng\u2019s e-toll policy, in the hopes that a better one can be found.<\/p>\n And in his state of the province address in February, Gauteng premier David Makhura admitted<\/a> that e-tolling was a mistake, promising there would be no e-tolls on new Gauteng roads.<\/p>\n
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