JOHANNESBURG – Finance Minister Tito Mboweni announced on Wednesday during his Medium-term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) that motorists in Gauteng would have to fork out the cash if they will be using the roads in the province.
Mboweni said: "Cabinet has considered several options to resolve the impasse over the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project. Government has decided to retain the user pay principle. While there will be a further dispensation and value‐added services, compliance will also be strengthened."
"Not paying your tolls has already led to our roads deteriorating. We have been unable to maintain the network. I urge the nation to please pay your bills. We need to build a culture of payment, as government services can only be sustainable if all of us that can pay for services, do so."
Moboweni said the MTBPS is an important piece of South Africa's budgeting process.
The first statement was published on December 2, 1997, during the first democratic administration led by President Nelson Mandela.
The finance minister also cut the forecast for growth by 1 percent, saying that although it was expected that the economy would grow by 1.5 percent, government is now expecting the economy to grow by just 0.5 percent.
"In September, headline consumer price inflation was 4.1 percent. Lower inflation is good for everyone, particularly for the poor and the working class. In short, it is a mixed picture with some positive signs. It is our job to chart a course that is strategic, sober, careful and inclusive.
The economy is now forecast to grow at 0.5 percent in 2019 compared to the 1.5 percent expected in February. Growth is projected to slowly rise to 1.7 percent in 2022, supported by household consumption and private‐sector investment," Mboweni said.