TOLL ROADS PLANNED FOR N2 AND N6 IN EASTERN CAPE
Oscar says gates long overdue and revenue will help infrastructure
Plans are afoot to toll several major roads in the Eastern Cape, a “user-pay” model the provincial government says will boost its coffers and ensure roads are maintained.
The scheme to build toll gates on the busy N2 and N6 – which link the Eastern Cape to KwaZulu-Natal, the Western Cape and the Free State – was revealed by Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane in East London on Thursday.
Speaking on the sidelines of a provincial transport summit at the East London ICC, Mabuyane said if the plan got the green light, the millions of rands tolling was likely to garner would go a long way towards maintaining the province’s road infrastructure.
Where exactly the new toll gates would be erected is to be determined after extensive research on the feasibility of tolling the roads.
“We want to target the entrance at Kokstad from KwaZulu-Natal and the entrance at Aliwal North from the Free State,” said Mabuyane.
However, the South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) warned such tolls might well be the death knell for the taxi industry.
The Road Freight Association (RFA) said they hoped there would be extensive consultation before any plan was implemented.
The only toll point in the Eastern Cape is on the N2 in Tsitsikamma on the border of the province and the Western Cape. According to the South African National Roads Agency, the fees at that toll, as gazetted in February, are:
● R53 for light vehicles, which includes caravans, trailers and motorcycles;
● Two-axle heavy vehicles, such as passenger cars, pay R133;
● Three- and four-axle heavy vehicles pay R319; and
● Vehicles with five and more axles fork out R450.
Mabuyane said tolling major roads was long overdue as other provinces were raking in millions in tolls.
“We’ve got to get money from people who are from big logistic businesses. People who travel between Johannesburg and here pay the N1 tolls, but they don’t pay when they enter the province through the N6.
“They pay for the N2 from Durban, but they don’t pay when they enter the N2 in this province. They pay on the N2 in the Western Cape, but not here. Hence maintenance becomes a challenge, with that money always being taken out of our fiscus,” he said.
The premier said building a world-class road infrastructure was “an expensive exercise” and more revenue was needed to keep up with international road standards.
“We are of the firm belief that there should not be a blanket approach to stop the tolling of our roads. A world-class road network has to be maintained, and as such there must be toll gates at strategic entry points to our province for revenue generation, which should be used for road maintenance and new road infrastructure projects.
“The reality shows our roads
The biggest concern is that whatever money is collected should be used for what it will be meant for
are always in bad condition the and government can no longer sustain maintenance of these roads out of its fiscus.
“The bad roads are always in the Eastern Cape and not anywhere else. This is because elsewhere there are toll gates.
“Hence we say this user-pay principle is important.”
RFA CEO Gavin Kelly said if implemented, the cost of doing business in the Eastern Cape would increase.
“But if the intention is good and the money is ring-fenced for what it is meant to do, that would be great. The biggest concern is that whatever money is collected should be used for what it will be meant for.
“We all know how money is collected for something, but used for something else, or simply disappears,” he said.
Reacting to Mabuyane’s plans, Santaco provincial chair-Lungiswa Mfana-Mabhija, who was also at the summit, said they would only decide during the consultation process whether to support the plan or not.
Until then, she had serious reservations.
“This will kill us in the taxi industry. In the province we don’t even have enough money to maintain such toll roads.
“Yes, it’s going to generate revenue for the province, but what about the taxi operators?”
Addressing the summit, Mabuyane bemoaned the poor state of the roads in the province, describing some of them as “death traps”.
“Our road infrastructure is in a poor state and poses major risks to human life, but is also a huge cost driver for government and the private sector.”
Mabuyane said improved public transport networks, including roads, rail, air and maritime, would go a long way to boosting the province’s economy.
Transport MEC Weziwe Tikana-Gxothiwe said transport was the “heartbeat of the nation” and enabled economic development.
She said multimodal transport systems were “critical”.
Tikana-Gxothiwe revealed the provincial government planned within the next five years to upgrade the Bulembu Airport near Bhisho to a “cargo airport”, while ports in East London and Port Elizabeth would be upgraded to accommodate goods transportation.