Panyaza Lesufi welcomes scrapping of e-tolls in Gauteng by National Treasury

The Gauteng provincial government has welcomed the announcement by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana to scrap e-tolls.

During his Medium-Term Budget Statement in Cape Town on Wednesday, Godongwana said the government will absorb the R47 billion e-tolls debt currently sitting with the South African National Roads Agency (Sanral).

Premier Panyaza Lesufi said this is an important victory as it brought relief to the people of Gauteng who have had to bear the brunt of paying e-tolls for roads that serve a national purpose.

“We will consult the people of Gauteng on how this 30% should be funded. We don’t want to make the same mistake of imposing a model. So, we will run a consultative conference with people of Gauteng on how best to settle this 30%.”

Godongwana’s announcement has also been welcomed by civil society.

The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse’s Wayne Duvenage said e-tolls were poorly thought out in the first place and they hope the government has learned its lesson.

“Well done to the people of South Africa, who stood by the decision to not pay e-tolls.”

At the same time, the Gauteng provincial government said it will be meeting with the South African National Roads Agency SOC Ltd management to see if the e-tolls infrastructure can be repurposed and used in crime fighting.

-EWN

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