By Karabo Rammutla
The unpopular e-tolls used to fund Gauteng’s freeways look to have finally been left by the roadside as Premier Panyaza Lesufi said the province is ready to get rid of them.
The battle against the e-tolling scheme was fought through courts, official inquiries, across social media, in protests on bridges and outside government offices.
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced a government bailout for Sanral during his Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement address in Parliament on Wednesday.
National government will contribute almost R24 billion to the South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) to help pay off its R47 billion debt and deal with e-tolls once and for all.
This announcement spelled the end for e-tolls and Premier Lesufi seemed to confirm its departure by saying the government was ready to wave goodbye to the ill-fated system.
This bill must now be passed by Parliament.
While the national treasury will pay 70% of Sanral’s debt, Gauteng is in for 30%.
Sanral’s balance sheet has been burdened by the hefty e-tolls debt as a majority of Gauteng residents have refused to pay for the gantry system.
Delivering the latest budget policy statement, Godongwana said that the uncertainty surrounding the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP) will be handed to the province under a new Treasury plan.
The current plan, which includes e-tolls financing road construction, continues to have a negative impact on building or improving provincial road infrastructure.
The minister said that South Africa’s road network must be brought back up to efficiency and functionality.
Pictured above: eTolls
