Will Gauteng’s e-tolls stay or go, come Wednesday?

Finance minister Enoch Godongwana delivers his medium-term budget policy statement (MTBPS) in parliament on Wednesday and is expected to announce the cabinet’s decision on a way forward for e-tolls in Gauteng.

This comes after years of delays by the government in announcing what it plans to do with the system, against the backdrop of fierce opposition from the motoring public in the province.

The Automobile Association (AA) said the government could not further delay making a formal announcement on the matter.

Since its introduction in December 2013, the payment of e-tolls for the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP) has been a contentious issue, with many motorists refusing to pay. Their assertion then, as it is now, is the government must fund the GFIP through other means, possibly a ring-fencing of some revenue collected through the general fuel levy.

In late August, and with the MTBPS in mind, the AA launched a petition urging motorists to communicate their unhappiness with the e-tolls in Gauteng, and asking that the system be scrapped once and for all.

To date, the AA says that more than 20,000 people have signed the petition, with each objection going directly to both the ministers of finance and transport.

“The compliance rate for e-toll payments is below 20%; Gauteng motorists have clearly already communicated their position to government. However, it’s now time government makes a formal statement on their position on e-tolls and gives the province’s citizens assurances it will scrap the system and not pursue any debts owed,” the AA said.

In addition to cancelling old debt, all money collected to date must be paid back.

“Only a decision to scrap the system will be acceptable to citizens, and it must be done now. Failure to do this will further harden people’s attitudes to e-tolls and will, in any event, result in a further decline in compliance levels. A decision to scrap will also indicate government is listening to the people it should serve who have, for years, been vocal about their opposition. Not scrapping e-tolls in Gauteng has the added consequence of further alienating the public already battered by rolling electricity blackouts, water restrictions, rising fuel costs and climbing inflation,” said the association.

In its 2019 Road Funding Report the AA noted motorists in the province have taken a principled stance against e-tolls believing, correctly, that funds for the GFIP should be sourced elsewhere from the Treasury.

“Citizens are already extremely cash-strapped and simply cannot bail the government out of a situation it was warned would fail. To continue with the system now send a message of a government who doesn’t care about the financial crises of its people, nor that it is doing anything to mitigate against those challenges. Minister Godongwana has a perfect opportunity to indicate this is not the case and to finally scrap this system.”