Ahead of the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement next month, there is speculation that the future of e-Tolls remains in a precarious position. While this is highly probable amidst promises from Fikile Mbalula, calls for a reimbursement to previous toll payers seems optimistic.
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana will present the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) in late October and it will be an opportunity to address the failed system which has been in place for almost a decade.
“Mr Godongwana is now best-placed to deal decisively with e-tolls and scrap the system once and for all. Continuing with e-Tolls, in whatever form, will yield the same poor results and will further harden people’s views on a failing system,” says the AA.
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 in the province refusing to pay. “Motorists correctly question government spending in many areas including, for instance, huge salaries and bonuses to executives at poorly run State-Owned Enterprises, while they are being asked time and again to make contributions on top of the taxes they’re already paying,” notes the AA.
According to the Road Funding Report in August 2019, the AA communicated to the Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula that payment compliance was low with the Minister indicating that a decision on the future of the system would be decided on by March 2020. With further communication by the Minister never met, Mbalula indicated that Godongwana would clarify the future e-tolls in his Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) which is where the speculation that the system will be scrapped comes from.
This isn’t the first time rumours that the system would be scrapped, but with small numbers of contributors, it is the most probable time to do so. The failed e-Toll system has been dwindling since its inception, with payment compliance reported at less than 18% now, half of the reported high of 40% in 2014. This number is further skewed by fleet and government vehicles which dominate this number.
The Association says it will continue to lobby for the termination of e-Tolls through official channels. In addition, it has launched an online petition urging motorists in the province to add their voice to calls for the scrapping of the failed system.
“Motorists in Gauteng have already, effectively, cast their vote against e-Tolls by not paying. But we must reinforce that message. We have launched an online campaign where people can directly petition the Ministers of Transport and Finance to compel them to reconsider moving forward with e-tolls. Each petition submitted is a vote for transparency, accountability and the proper allocation of state resources, and we urge all motorists to #JoinTheMovement and #SupportTheCause,” says the AA.
