The ANC in Gauteng has no clear timeline in place to scrap e-tolls. This was revealed by Premier David Makhura in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature during a question and answer session for oral reply.
During his reply to the DA’s questions on e-tolls, the Premier indicated that there is no need for an intergovernmental dispute to be declared as there is no dispute.
Instead it appears as if the ANC is compromising on its initial position and big business may have to foot the bill in the end.
In addition, the Premier also indicated that e-tolls will remain in Gauteng and will only be scrapped if the debt is settled.
However, the National Minister of Finance, Tito Mboweni has indicated that users of e-tolls must pay. It is high time that e-tolls are scrapped, but it appears as if the Gauteng Provincial Government is struggling to find a solution.
The DA has always been against the implementation of e-tolls as it is unfair burden on the residents of Gauteng.
e-Tolls must be scrapped and instead the fuel levy should be used to fund e-tolls. Had this been done initially this would have been able to pay off the R20-billion cost of the road improvements. But instead the fuel levy is being used to bail out State Owned Enterprises (SOEs).
There is something to be said and done about the amount demanded of motorists using the Gauteng highways and the South African National Road Agency (Sanral) total debt. There is a total mismatch between the actual debt and what Sanral attributes as Gauteng’s part of their total debt. we will explore this further and provide.
The DA will continue to put pressure on the Premier to provide a clear timeline as to exactly when a solution will be found to e-tolls.