The CEO of Sanral has refused to say what the total operating costs of the Gauteng toll system would be because he believes South Africans won’t understand.
CEO Nazir Alli, from the SA National Roads Agency Ltd, was part of a panel talking about South Africa’s transport issues at a Johannesburg Press Club meeting on Wednesday.
Before the discussion had ended, Alli left to attend another meeting. The Star confronted him, as he was walking to the parking lot, to ask him what the final figure to operate the toll system was.
Alli’s reply was that the tender had been audited and The Star should not doubt the auditor-general.
When asked for a figure again, Alli replied: “Unfortunately, you don’t understand what the figures are.” He then turned his back on a journalist from The Star, putting his hand up to block his face, and refused to say anything further.
The Star has been sending messages to Sanral for weeks, asking what the final figure to operate the toll system will be.
Last month, The Star disclosed the existence of a document that said the tender to build and operate the toll system would cost R14 billion over 10 years. Sanral originally said the tender, which was awarded to Electronic Toll Collection, an entity owned mainly by Swedish and Austrian company Kapsch TrafficCom, cost R6.2bn.
The panel at the press club meeting discussed various aspects of road infrastructure and the tolls, with no indication about when the system would come into effect.
Senzo Mahlangu, from the SA Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu), described the toll roads as a “monster” that would hit the poor.
“I believe the tender process was flawed,” Mahlangu said. “I don’t believe it will solve congestion on the roads. All it will do is take money from ordinary people and give it to someone who is making money.”
Alli said people weren’t looking at the benefits the upgraded freeways were bringing.
“Nobody gives us alternative options and these are limited as far as the government is concerned…” he said.
“We could have sat down and done nothing about this, but what would have been the cost of that to the economy and the individual?”
A lecturer in the department of transport and supply chain management at the University of Johannesburg, Vaughan Mostert, said the money would have been better spent on public transport.
“What will the R40bn in road infrastructure and tolling of this project, added to the hugely expensive Shilowa Express (Gautrain) and the BRT, do to our economy? We are heading for problems and we are going down the Greek road,” said Mostert.
He said the country was spending far too much money on cars and tolls, and this would have a knock-on effect on the economy.
Mostert looked at the University of Cape Town study cited by Sanral to show that the benefits of the tolls outweighed the disadvantages.
He said he believed the complete opposite was true and the country should not be spending so much on the system.
The AA’s Gary Ronald said they were concerned about the amount of money being spent on road infrastructure and that it was difficult to see any results from the spending.
“Work is being given to people to fix our roads, but the money is given to them two or three times until the problem is finally fixed.
“We cannot afford to do this. We need to appoint the right people to do this work the first time,” Ronald said.
Coenraad Bezuidenhout, from Business Unity South Africa (Busa), said a national debate into whether the fuel levy should be ring-fenced to pay for transport infrastructure needed to take place.
Busa said they had sent Sanral questions on the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project on which they wanted clarity.
Some of the questions are on the costs of operating the toll roads and what the penalty is for the cancellation of the project.
They were expecting a reply next week. - The Star