Finance minister Tito Mboweni urged the South African National Roads Agency to reverse a decision not to chase down people who aren\u2019t paying electronic tolls to fund a freeway upgrade around Johannesburg and Pretoria.<\/p>\n
The state-owned company known as Sanral has faced resistance to e-tolls from motorists since their inception in 2013 and hasn\u2019t issued public debt in at least three years following a drop in revenue caused by the boycott.<\/p>\n
South Africa\u2019s transport ministry earlier this month said it transferred R5.7 billion ($397 million) to the agency to cover a lack of funding.<\/p>\n
“I am very unhappy with the decision by the Sanral board not to pursue those who have been defaulting on their e-tolls,\u201d Mboweni told reporters in Pretoria on Thursday.<\/p>\n
“They must reverse the decision immediately or else this has implications for the bond market, it has implications for the fiscus, it has implications for their own credit rating and the credit rating for the country.”<\/p>\n
Economists are split on what Moody\u2019s Investors Service will do when it potentially makes an announcement on South Africa\u2019s credit assessment Friday.<\/p>\n
Moody\u2019s is the only one of the world\u2019s three largest ratings agency that rates South Africa investment grade, helping it stay clear of a forced sell-off of billions of rand of its debt.<\/p>\n
“People must learn that you don\u2019t take careless decisions in the middle of a very difficult financial situation,” Mboweni said. “Pay your taxes, render unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar and that\u2019s it.”<\/p>\n