E-toll submissions deadline extended by two weeks

After exuding confidence in being able to solve the contentious e-toll matter in one month, Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula has made a u-turn on his optimistic deadline by extending it by another two weeks, reports SABC News.

He said the extension would allow for further dialogue with other stakeholders. A report was also reportedly submitted to President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday.  

In July, Ramaphosa set Mbalula’s deadline to August to solve the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (e-toll) crisis – despite no resolution for the past six years. 

“In August, we are closing this matter, we will take it to the president,” Mbalula said. “After we have spoken to all South Africans and told them about what we think and how we should cooperate, we will then inform our people what we have decided.

“This is not a matter that we should be discussing year after year; we will finish it in August as the president has instructed us,” Mbalula told the media in July. 

E-tolls have come under scrutiny from both Gauteng residents and organisations, including the organisation undoing tax abuse (Outa), who once again called on government to acknowledge the “failure of the e-tolls scheme”, and to come up with a workable solution. 

Outa believes the South African government had not acted in the best interests of society when establishing e-tolls and continued to “ignore the facts and alternatives that are available to resolve the impasse”.

The organisation estimates that as many as four out of five Gauteng highway users fail to pay their e-toll bills. It also believes that alternative options should have been considered in Gauteng freeway upgrades, and advocated that the R20 billion e-toll bill be settled by adding 10 cents to the fuel levy. 

Mbalula has said the task team are mindful of the demand to scrap e-tolls, and has actively been engaging with the Automobile Association (AA) and Outa. 

(Compiled by Nica Schreuder)

Additional reporting by Bennitt Bartl and Eric Naki

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