The Department of Transport says that it still does not have not a definite solution on the future of e-tolls, as the system continues to hinder the country’s transport sector.<\/p>\n
E-tolls have been met with resistance from road users since inception in 2013, leading to non-payment by many, and calls to scrap the system altogether.<\/p>\n
President Cyril Ramamphosa, Transport minister Fikile Mbalula and the Gauteng provincial government have all acknowledged the system’s failings, and have pledged to address the issues.<\/p>\n
However, the Department of Transport’s revised strategic plan – which includes strategies up to the 2024\/2025 financial year – shows that no immediate solution is forthcoming.<\/p>\n
The Department said that world-class road infrastructure is essential to the country’s infrastructure plans, which means it critical to create policy and legal certainty about the future of the toll road system.<\/p>\n
It added that the current lack of certainty impacts the road agency’s\u00a0ability to raise capital on the bond market, improve its credit ratings and meet its debt obligations.<\/p>\n
“With the decision on the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP) still outstanding, a number of options have already been considered,” the department said.<\/p>\n
“The Department of Transport will continue to engage with the National Treasury to ensure that the final decision made is sustainable and in the best interest of South Africans.”<\/p>\n
“In relation to this, the Department of Transport will, in the medium-term, embark on the process of developing the Road Infrastructure Funding Policy to ensure that South Africa has a lasting solution to continued divergent stances around the toll road system and the user-pay principle.”<\/p>\n
In October 2020, transport minister Mbalula said that his department is being impeded from rolling out new road infrastructure projects because of a lack of resolution around e-tolls.<\/p>\n
At the time, the minister said that president Ramaphosa\u2019s cabinet is set to finalise a new funding model for the project after receiving proposals from his department.<\/p>\n
Mbalula admitted that he thought the issue would have been resolved by now, but that the process has been delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n