Minister ‘String-a long’ Mbalula has once again moved the goal posts for the scrapping of e-Tolls in Gauteng. The residents of this province will not be getting any relief from having to pay for a system they did not agree to in the first place.
Earlier this week, he announced that Gauteng residents now have to wait a bit longer before a concrete decision will be made on the future of e-Tolls. For a long time now, the Minister of Transport has been kicking the can down the road on this issue and strung Gauteng residents along, giving them false hope that e-Tolls would be eradicated.
Since 2018, the people of Gauteng have been made numerous promises that e-Tolls will be scrapped, and a task team had been set up by President Cyril Ramaphosa to look into this matter.
It is unacceptable that this matter has been dragging on for so long and places a huge burden on our residents who are struggling to afford basic goods and services due to the high costs.
The DA demands that a decision be taken once and for all on this matter as it is not feasible to have the e-Tolling system in place. Furthermore, the DA calls on the MEC for Roads and Transport, Jacob Mamabolo to share the proposals the Gauteng government made to the Minister of Transport on the funding of the e-Toll system.
The DA will continue to put pressure on the government to ensure that when projects have been undertaken that place a financial burden on the residents of the province, proper public engagement takes place so that we do not have a repeat of the e-Toll saga.