Gauteng MEC for finance Jacob Mamabolo says no money is being set aside in the provincial budget to address Gauteng’s obligations towards the outstanding debt for the failed e-toll system.<\/p>\n
Tabling the provincial budget on Thursday (9 March), Mamabolo said that the e-toll matter is still being negotiated with the national government and that a lot of work still needs to be done to end the system – at least on a regulatory level – once and for all.<\/p>\n
Despite this, the MEC stressed that, as far as the provincial government is concerned, the e-toll matter is settled and that there should not be any anxiety or doubts about whether it will continue.<\/p>\n
“The announcement made by minister of finance Enoch Godongwana in his mid-term budget policy statement (MTBPS) settled the e-toll matter beyond any shadow of doubt, with the government absorbing the e-toll debt split between the National and the Gauteng Provincial Government,” he said.<\/p>\n
“We did indicate that there is still work to be done to fully implement and give practical effect to this decision. It is in this context that we reported that a Memorandum of Agreement will be concluded with the national government. Negotiations with the national government are still underway.<\/strong><\/p>\n “Once these engagements have been finalised, the MOA will be concluded and proper feedback and update will be given. We are confident that the outstanding matters, such as the conclusion of the MOA, should not bring any anxiety or doubt with respect to the announcement,” he said.<\/p>\n “In the 2023\/24 financial year, there will be no specific allocation that is required for e-tolls.”<\/p>\n Following Godongwana\u2019s announcement on 26 October 2022 of a new financing mechanism for the Gauteng freeway upgrade debt to replace the failed e-toll scheme, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi indicated that the e-tolls would be scrapped as soon as Gauteng reached an agreement with National Treasury.<\/p>\n The province was given until 31 December 2022 to conclude this agreement – a deadline that it missed<\/a><\/strong>. The provincial government said that the official shutdown would take place sometime in 2023, without providing any specific timeline.<\/p>\n This leaves the e-tolling system as a hanging thread in the province. Despite the system being scrapped on a political level, the laws that govern the system and permit billing and collection of owed fees are still very much in operation.<\/p>\n