PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa’s cabinet is currently weighing up the financial implications of scrapping e-tolls or leaving it in place, says acting minister in the presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni.
In a post-cabinet briefing on Thursday (27 May), Ntshavheni said it was clear that the Gauteng provincial government wants the system removed.
She added that the government is now looking at the ‘different permutations’ of scrapping the system, given the financial commitments made around the scheme.
Ntshavheni’s comments come after Gauteng’s Transport MEC Jacob Mamabolo told SAfm that e-tolls would be scrapped. However, he later walked back the statements on social media – indicating that this was just his personal position.
Transport minister Fikile Mbalula subsequently confirmed that an official decision has not yet been made, and that Mamabolo’s comments were from the position of the Gauteng government’s lobbying to have the system removed.
Mbalula promised the National Council of Provinces earlier this week that an announcement would be “imminent”. This, after his last promised deadline (20 May) passed by without any announcement.
Cautious optimism
Responding to the buzz around Mamabolo’s comments, the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) said it was cautiously optimistic about the MEC’s position, but would wait for an official announcement before celebrating anything.
Outa chief executive Wayne Duvenage said that even if it were an announcement that e-tolls would be scrapped, it would still not be the end of the saga as many logistic and legal processes would still have to play out.
“Motorists need to know that government will be reversing the law that declared the Gauteng freeway network as tolled roads. There are many other decisions that will need to be taken and executed, e.g. the cancellation of contracts with ETC who collects e-tolls from motorists and amendments to the Sanral Act.
“Unpaid e-toll debt will also have to be written off without further threats to prosecute non-payers,” he said.
- Business Tech