Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi said the province was ready to start a new life without e-tolls after Sanral confirmed it was walking away from the ill-fated tolling system on Gauteng freeways.
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana tabled his 2022 Medium-term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) in Parliament on Wednesday. In the medium-term budget, he announced a R23.7 billion allocation to Sanral, as well as assistance from the national and Gauteng governments to deal with its R47 billion debt.
Since the e-tolling system was launched in late 2013, it has been plagued with low collection rates and vehement resistance from Gauteng motorists. Sanral admitted to Parliament recently that it was preparing to forgo R10 billion in revenue in the coming year over its inability to enforce the toll.
Godongwana announced that government will take 70% of Sanral's debt, while the Gauteng province agreed to settle 30%. Gauteng will also cover the costs of maintaining the 201km of highways and any additional investments through the existing e-tolls or new toll plazas. This will effectively end Sanral's involvement in the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP).
In a statement, Lesufi confirmed Godongwana's announcement that the Gauteng provincial government will take responsibility for the maintenance and further expansion of the GFIP.
"We believe that this is an important victory as it brings great relief to the people of Gauteng who have had to bear the brunt of paying e-tolls for roads, which serve a national purpose. There will be further engagements with Sanral regarding the repurposing of the e-tolls infrastructure, which we believe can be of use in the crime-fighting strategy of the provincial government," said Lesufi.
Lesufi said the provincial government would work with National Treasury to ensure that revenue streams are found to settle Gauteng's portion of the e-tolls debt amounting to R14 billion. The Gauteng government will meet urgently with Godongwana to finalise some of the modalities.
Sanral spokesperson Vusi Mona said the agency was moving forward with the knowledge that the management of the maintenance of the freeways will shift to the Gauteng provincial government.
"If you follow the announcement by the minister, for all intents and purposes, we cannot continue with e-tolling, because what are we tolling? The asset is Gauteng's and they will be responsible for phase 2 of the GFIP. We cannot continue to toll somebody else's asset," said Mona.
GFIP phase 2 will involve the management and maintenance of the freeway network as well as any potential developments that may be needed.
Mona said while the tolling infrastructure on the 201km network of the road on Gauteng's freeways belonged to Sanral, the responsibility to maintain it and fund its management would rest with the Gauteng provincial government.
"Our user-pay principle in SA applied to every km except the 201km Gauteng. The minister [Godongwana] says Gauteng will also cover the cost of maintaining the 201km and interchanges and any additional need will be funded within mechanism within Gauteng's responsibility," Mona said.
Some of the existing large infrastructure plans include Sanral's R62 billion projects to build new road infrastructure and rehabilitate key routes.