Gauteng premier David Makhura is planning a February meeting with those who made submissions to an advisory panel on the province’s controversial e-tolls, he said on Thursday.<\/p>\n
All the recommendations made by the panel would be considered as well as their implications, he told reporters in Johannesburg.<\/p>\n
National, provincial and local government was also working together in the process which was being led by deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa.<\/p>\n
“Having concluded the consultation processes, the government will make an announcement on the recommendations thereafter,” he said.<\/p>\n
Makhura commended the panel for its work, which, he said, would contribute enormously to improving the quality of governance in the province.<\/p>\n
He also thanked the public for its contributions to the panel.<\/p>\n
The panel was appointed on July 17 to examine the economic and social impact of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project and the e-tolling system which was set up to fund it.<\/p>\n
It presented the report to Makhura on November 30 but its contents were not made public.<\/p>\n
There has been a public outcry over the implementation of e-tolls on Gauteng’s highways, with many motorists refusing to pay their bills.<\/p>\n
The provincial ANC was one of the groups whose presentation to the panel rejected the tolls, causing conflict with its parent body.<\/p>\n
Provincal chairman, Paul Mashatile was outspoken about e-tolls at the party’s conference held in Pretoria in October last year.<\/p>\n
“It’s not that I don’t like Sanral, but they must know their place. Government agencies don’t run the country, but the ANC does. I don’t like government agencies that take on politicians,” Mashatile said.<\/p>\n
“Sanral cannot tell us what to do. We tell them what to do.”<\/p>\n
E-toll review panel findings: everything you need to know<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n E-toll panel rejects fuel levy: report<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n