The Gauteng provincial government has revealed that it is ready to pay its first instalment towards the R20 billion for the recently scrapped e-toll debt it owes the South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral), which is due next week.
This was revealed by Gauteng Finance and Economic Development MEC Lebogang Maile during a media briefing on Wednesday.
Maile indicated that he was ready to pay the first instalment of R3bn by next Monday (October 1).
The MEC briefed members of the media on the state of the province’s finances and the 2024/25 Provincial Audit Outcomes on Wednesday.
“On Monday, we’re supposed to pay our first instalment towards the e-tolls. Remember, the citizens have refused to pay, now the government has to pay. So we are going to spend about R20bn, R12bn on the actual debt, R4bn on the interest, another R4bn on the maintenance.
“So we’re paying the first instalment on Monday, about R3bn, billion and that will put a huge strain and pressure on our provincial resources,” he said.
In spite of the challenges and financial strain, Maile assured Gauteng residents that the finances of the province are in good hands, adding that he and his team have things under control to weather the storms caused by this debt.
The scrapping of the e-toll service came into effect in April this year, with Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi overseeing the process following many years of promises to Gauteng motorists.
At the end of March, through a proclamation in the Government Gazette, the national and provincial government officially scrapped e-tolls.
The gazette, signed by then transport minister Sindisiwe Chikunga, scrapped the much-maligned system with the switching off of gantries on April 11.
In a statement issued by Sanral, the national roads agency had said the gantries used to toll road users “will officially be disconnected from the e-tolls network from 11.59pm on 11 April 2024”.
However, not everyone accepted and welcomed the relief that came with the end of the e-tolls as well as other financial challenges facing the province.
The DA, through its spokesperson on finance and member of the provincial legislature, Ruhan Robinson, said while the substantial e-toll debt-servicing cost has put a lot of pressure on the provincial government to make ends meet, it merely compounds an existing problem and is not the sole cause of the province’s financial woes.
“It is shocking to hear MEC Maile speak as if this this is a new problem. In the previous financial year, the province ran a deficit of R5.4bn, and the projected deficit in the current financial year is set to be R4.3bn. Similarly, in the following financial year, the province is expected to have a deficit of R4.1bn.
“Despite this glaring problem, the ANC-led provincial government has been adamant about forging ahead with the status quo and introducing more vanity projects rather than working on much-needed reforms,” Robinson said.
During a joint media briefing by Chikunga and Lesufi, announcing the end of the gantries, Chikunga said the e-toll gantries would now be used as speed traps as well as monitoring highways to capture stolen vehicles and cloned plate numbers.
The Star