South Africa would be in ‘serious trouble’ if the existing e-tolling debt was not settled, SA National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) told the e-toll review panel in Pretoria on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
“There is no new money,” said Sanral CEO Nazir Alli.<\/p>\n
Alli said that currently the agency had no funds to settle the existing bill.<\/p>\n
“There is no subsidy on the tolls. If we default, South Africa will be in serious trouble,” he told the panel.<\/p>\n
Alli said the e-tolling project in Gauteng cost around R20 billion. The State, however, gave them only R10 billion per year.<\/p>\n
He said they could have used the budget they received over two years but the roads would have been impossible to maintain.<\/p>\n
“That would have meant we can’t maintain a single millimetre of the road,” said Alli.<\/p>\n
The transport department and Sanral on Wednesday proceeded with presenting their submissions to the panel, explaining why e-tolling was necessary.<\/p>\n
The National Treasury, which was expected to also present to the panel on Wednesday, requested a postponement.<\/p>\n
Alli and transport department acting director general Mawethu Vilana continued to answer questions posed by the panel.<\/p>\n
They had until Thursday to conclude their presentations.<\/p>\n
Gauteng premier David Makhura in July appointed the panel to review the tolling system.<\/p>\n
It was set up to examine the economic and social impact of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project and the e-tolling system set up to fund it.<\/p>\n
The panel was to present its findings to Makhura at the end of the month.<\/p>\n
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