Sanral plans new ‘special toll roads’ for trucks

The South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) is considering introducing “special toll roads” for heavy freight vehicles deemed too damaging to certain parts of the network.

Board chair Themba Mhambi told parliament’s Select Committee on Public Infrastructure and the Minister in the Presidency on Tuesday that the agency does not want ordinary road users to bear the brunt of the proposal.

“Indeed, we do not want ordinary members of the public to suffer as a result thereof, so our focus is really going to be on freight traffic that ordinarily should not be on those roads,” he said.

Mhambi also confirmed that Sanral’s budget has been cut by about R8 billion in the current financial year.

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Sanral chief financial officer Pretty Makukule said the roads agency faced budget cuts of about R5 billion this year, then received another letter from the  Department of Transport (DoT) last week about further cuts “for the very same budget of about R1.9 billion”.

Makukule said Sanral management is discussing these cuts and analysing its projects, including the different phases, and is planning “to embark on a serious reprioritisation exercise to ensure that it doesn’t affect our projects severely”.

Mhambi said Sanral management indicated that the current reduction in its budget of about R8 billion by National Treasury could impact the roads agency’s performance and poses a major challenge to fulfilling its obligations.

“We are addressing this because, historically, National Treasury has always been extremely supportive where we are delivering, and therefore think it is a matter that we can address by accelerating our performance where allocations have already been made,” he said.

Sanral did not provide a reason for the budget cuts in its presentation to the committee.

‘Special toll roads’ for heavy freight

Responding to a question about “special toll roads” for heavy freight vehicles, Mhambi said the board has, as a principle, directed management to focus on roads that are suffering under the weight, particularly by freight that should be transported by rail.

Mhambi added that Transnet is helping greatly in this regard by accelerating its attention to bringing heavy freight back onto rail, and that this process is progressing well.

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Transnet Group CEO Michelle Phillips told the same committee later on Tuesday that there is significant focus on shifting freight volumes from road to rail, with Sanral assisting in this process.

“We are working together to be successful in the shift of the freight, especially heavy freight, from road to rail,” she said.

Industry reaction

Road Freight Association (RFA) CEO Gavin Kelly admitted on Tuesday that it was the first time he had heard of plans for special toll roads for heavy freight.

Kelly said it was difficult for him to comment on the proposal, particularly as the RFA does not have visibility of the government’s reasoning behind these tolls.

He added that the majority of South Africa’s roads were built many years ago, during the 1960s and 1970s, when the current axle mass limits for trucks were not considered.

Kelly acknowledged that these roads cannot withstand the weight or volume of traffic they are currently carrying.

He argued that the government should ensure that funds collected for road maintenance through the fuel levy are used for their intended purpose and “not used as a fund to fix education and the next thing, which is what is happening”.

Road infrastructure problems 

Sanral also informed the committee of an issue in which a contractor, awarded about 11 contracts nationwide, was unable to complete the work. This led to the cancellation of the contracts and meant the agency failed to meet its road network resurfacing targets.

Mhambi said the matter is currently under investigation, and Sanral does not yet have the final results of the probe. Therefore, there is no reason to refer the company to National Treasury for blacklisting yet.

“It goes without saying, should there be any finding of any wrongdoing on anybody’s part, there will be the relevant consequence management within Sanral itself, and if a company is in any way implicated in any mischief, indeed, we shall refer the matter to National Treasury,” he said.

Mhambi added that Sanral continues to face a problem with underpricing but is working on developing criteria to try to ensure that, right from the beginning of the tender process, it becomes impossible for contractors to underprice.

Procurement and tenders

He said the problem is that the procurement regime in South Africa emphasises that once the gatekeeping elements have been taken care of, it then emphasises pricing as a determinant on who to appoint, which therefore makes it almost impossible for organisations to have the freedom not to appoint the lowest bidder, except where it is clearly unreasonable.

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Mhambi added that Sanral has identified challenges with routine road maintenance (RRM) tenders and has conducted an investigation, but is not in a position to comment publicly on the matter as the matter is before the courts.

“Once the courts have pronounced, based on the investigation we have conducted, we shall address whatever consequences management must follow in relation to that,” he said.

Acting Sanral CEO Kaiser Khosa noted that the agency operates an ethics and fraud hotline, allowing people to report concerns anonymously.

Khosa said these whistleblower reports are submitted directly to him, and Sanral handles the investigations, with support from law enforcement when there are allegations of malfeasance or corruption.

He added that Sanral currently has about four RRM contract litigation cases, but these matters are before the courts, and it would not be appropriate to comment on them at this stage.

This article was republished from Moneyweb. Read the original here.