The South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) has confirmed that it will continue collecting e-tolls fees until the government decides otherwise.
Sanral yesterday provided “clarity” on the next steps on phase 1 of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Programme (GFIP), colloquially known as e-tolls.
In a statement, Sanral said that the GFIP phase 1 was funded as part of the toll portfolio and not as a ring-fenced project.
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana last month announced that Sanral’s debt would be split 70/30 between the national and provincial governments, respectively.
Sanral said the national government had affirmed that direct road user charges were the most effective, equitable and efficient way to finance road infrastructure.
It said the decisions expected by the Gauteng government would include the treatment of legacy matters such as revenue collected from road users who have been paying their toll fees and/or those who have not paid.
It said the Gauteng provincial government “must finalise a long-term revenue solution that makes funding available for the maintenance of the road network, with Sanral continuing to execute the maintenance thereof.
“The option to utilise the existing toll mechanism remains open and would result in the toll network proclamation remaining in place.
“If the province’s provision for maintenance of the network is financed through other revenue streams within its area of responsibility, the processes on undeclaring the toll network, in terms of section 27 (1) of the South African National Roads Agency Limited and National Roads Act (Act 7 of 1998), will need to be undertaken.
“This notwithstanding, all necessary statutory and regulatory processes that must take place to give effect to the Minister of Finance’s announcement are under way, including consultation with relevant stakeholders.
“Until a notice in the Government Gazette is issued, Sanral has a statutory obligation to collect any toll fees due to them.”
Meanwhile, Sanral also rubbished claims that it had grossly inflated its R43 billion e-tolls debt by more than double.
This was after the Organisation Against Tax Abuse (Outa) questioned the accuracy of Sanral’s claim that nearly R46bn of its overall debt as at March 31, 2022 was made up of R43.031bn debt obligations attributed to GFIP Phase 1.
The organisation said that Sanral court papers reflected in early 2012 that the GFIP capital cost amounted to R20.63bn, while liabilities in its 2012 financial statements reflected its capital market long-term bonds at R28.4bn.
"We believe that the numbers that are being presented by the Treasury and Sanral are wrong. The GFIP debt is not R43bn,” said Outa CEO Wayne Duvenage.
“Even if Sanral did not settle R1 of the initial capital debt or the interest accrued, a bond of R20bn over the past 12 years at 10% interest will not amount to more than R33bn. The question we need answering is: What has Sanral done with the government grants received for GFIP over the last decade?”
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