Sizwe PamulaA spokesperson for Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi told TechCentral that the question of why Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana did not address the abolition of electronic tolls in Wednesday's budget speech has nothing to do with the province. .
“You should go to the Treasury and ask,” he said. “This is not a prefecture issue.”
In his State of the State address on February 19, Lesufi suggested that the Godongwana government would address the thorny issue of e-tolls in the national budget speech, although he did not explicitly say so. That didn't happen.
In his speech, Lesufi vowed to begin shutting down electronic toll gantries by March 31, 2024 at the latest.
“The intergovernmental working team has finished its work. This means Gauteng’s role is over. It is now the responsibility of the national Department of Transport and the person you should be talking to is the Department of Transport. The fact that we didn’t talk about electronic tolls has nothing to do with us,” Pamra told TechCentral.
In his speech, Lesufi said: “We have met with stakeholders, including the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Transport, and reached an agreement that by March 31st we will begin a formal process to switch off and delink, making electronic tollgates a thing of the past. ” in our state. ”
His comments were met with immediate skepticism, including from the Organization Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa), which was originally set up to fight electronic tolling.
“Abolition of electronic tolls”
However, Mr Godongwana made no mention of the e-toll system or Mr Lesufi's pledge in his budget speech, with Mr Lesufi simply making empty promises ahead of elections scheduled for May 29. Some people wonder if there is just one. According to opinion polls, the ANC will not be able to secure a majority in state polls.
Mr Lesufi said: “Last year, we promised the people of Gauteng that electronic tolls would be a thing of the past. A final meeting was held between the Gauteng Government and the Minister of Finance and Transport on 26 January 2024. I am happy to report that we are confident that we will be able to phase out electronic tolls by March.”
The Gauteng government, including Lesufi, has long promised to abolish the much-hated electronic toll system, but there has been little sign of concrete action.
Read: Lesufi promises to abolish electronic fares, but some skeptics say
However, according to News24, Godongwana state said after its budget speech that there was no agreement to shut down electronic toll gantries at the end of March, saying the state had not met two main conditions for their abolition.
These still depend on an agreement to split the debt 70:30 between the central government and the states. And get assurances that Gauteng has the funds to maintain the highways.
Stephanie Fick, Ota's executive director of accountability, told TechCentral that one branch of government is fighting another, and this is “a message we've heard before.”
“In the first place, Mr. Lesufi is not in a position to abolish electronic tolls. Since he does not have the authority, Mr. Sanral will continue until the tolls are paid. There must be a declaration.
“What is interesting is that the ANC is very opposed to electronic tolling, but this is an election year. And there are also flashpoints of conflict over money. Do I have to pay 30% of the cost of the national highway? [Sanral’s] South Africa manages 22,000km of roads, which equates to approximately 200km of roads in Gauteng. “In just five years, R8.9 billion of electronic toll payments have left South Africa and gone overseas,” she said.
Read: Electronic toll booths: “It's not just a question of whether to scrap a car or not to scrap it”
“As a road user, you have to wonder why you are paying electronic tolls. But nothing happened. Sanral does nothing about debt collection.” © 2024 News Central Media