E-tolling defended before panel (page 2)
Transport Minister Dipuo Peters was the first speaker, giving the government’s stance that e-tolling was inevitable and in line with the internationally-accepted principle that users of the road should pay for it. She said South Africa had about 10 million vehicles, 2.5 million of which were estimated to be in Gauteng. Of the 2.5 million, …
Transport Minister Dipuo Peters was the first speaker, giving the government’s stance that e-tolling was inevitable and in line with the internationally-accepted principle that users of the road should pay for it.
She said South Africa had about 10 million vehicles, 2.5 million of which were estimated to be in Gauteng. Of the 2.5 million, an estimated one million travelled daily on the toll-roads.
Traffic volumes on Gauteng freeways had increased sharply in the past few years. Morning peak hour traffic on the N1 between Allendale and Buccleauch interchanges had risen from 9000 vehicles in 2008 to 30,000 vehicles in 2013, the minister said.
“There are many alternative options to the user-pays principle whereof the fuel levy option is one. The fiscus cannot carry this project without an additional source of revenue. Our national road network consists of 85% non-toll roads and 15% toll roads, with the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP) constituting only 1% of the entire network that Sanral looks after,” she said.
“Sanral’s sole shareholder is the minister of transport, representing government. The entity has no mandate to make or claim any profit. Its mandate is to operate on a cost-recovery basis.”
Acting transport director general Mawethu Vilana said the fuel levy option to pay for the freeways would be too costly and impossible to administer. The collection of revenue would have to be localised.
Asked about the backlog of non-payers, he said people should be encouraged to pay for the roads.
“The courts of the country ruled about the legality of the e-toll system, so there is nothing unlawful about it. People must do the honourable thing and pay for the system.”
He said other options to pay for the freeways had been considered.
“All came to the conclusion that e-tolling is the only workable option available. A fuel levy will be unjustified because it will hit the poor man. We are not getting our money from a fuel levy. We are getting it from the fiscus,” he said.
“There is a lot of money that comes from the transport sector, but in our view, it is not enough because there are ever increasing challenges as a result of economic growth activities.” he said.
Asked about any future roads in the pipeline for e-tolling, he said: “There were, but now with the current debate outcome we will see how we will tackle that one. The current Gauteng e-tolled roads form part of phase one. Phase two was meant to be an extra 150 km that would have been e-tolled. It is safe to say that this now have been shelved for the meantime.”
Panel member Anna Mokgokong suggested Sanral should follow the example of MTN and SASOL and sell shares to the people of South Africa. She was sceptical about Sanral’s practice of selling bonds to raise money for its e-toll portfolio.
“Come back to the ground and let our people take ownership of our roads,” she said.
Allie said though people did not have direct access to Sanral’s JSE listing, some did have a stake in the agency in the form of pension fund investments in Sanral bonds.
He said Sanral received an annual allocation of some R10 billion from Treasury. The Gauteng freeway improvement project cost R20 billion.
“We could have paid for it in two years, but then we would not have built any other road in the country.”
Allie said external factors were constricting Sanral’s ability to raise money at the moment, and it experienced difficulties to raise the R500 million it required at its latest bond auction.
“This was due to the uncertainty created by the Gauteng government’s decision to initiate an inquiry into e-tolling. This had a negative impact on the investor confidence,” Allie said.
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Also read:
What Sanral Don’t Want You To Know About E-Tolls in South Africa
Alternative routes without e-tolls to be maintained
E-tolls elicit a storm of fury
OUTA demand SANRAL must address real issues
Minister adamant that e-tolling is there to stay
