Lesufi’s government to absorb e-toll debt, maintain Gauteng roads

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced that e-toll would be scrapped in his Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) on Wednesday, 26 October. Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi welcomed the decision.

READ: Have e-tolls been scrapped? Here’s what Godongwana really said

E-TOLLS ARE HISTORY IN GAUTENG

Lesufi said the finalisation of the e-toll matter is a relief to the people of Gauteng who have had to “bear the brunt of paying e-tolls for roads which serve a national purpose.”

In his mini-budget, Godongwana said the government would absorb the South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL0 e-toll debt, which sits at R47 billion.

The debt will be split between the national and provincial governments with Gauteng having to cough up 30%.

The Gauteng government will now be responsible for the maintenance and expansion of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP).

The provincial government said it would work with the national treasury to find ways to pay off the R14 billion it owes in e-toll debt.

Finance MEC Jacob Mamabolo will provide more details when he tables the province’s MTBPS in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature on 24 November.

The existing e-toll infrastructure will not go to waste. Lesufi said his government will engage with SANRAL about the possibility of the technology being used in the province’s crime-fighting strategy.

“The matter of people who have already been paying for e-tolls is in the purview of SANRAL,” said the provincial government.

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