There’s no e-toll deal yet

GODONGWANA: GAUTENG GOVT IS STILL TO ANSWER KEY QUESTIONS

▶ ‘It’s agreed’, gantries will be used for crime prevention, – transport minister.

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana cannot determine when e-tolls would be scrapped in Gauteng, he told a finance standing committee joint meeting this week.

Speaking on the e-toll debt, he said on Thursday he had previously agreed on a 70/30 debt settlement arrangement with Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi.

Godongwana was referring to the R47 billion debt by the SA National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral). “We have made our own commitment and gave Sanral money last year. The province has got to give us money,” he said.

The finance minister also said Gauteng was yet to answer key questions. “Who’s going to do the maintenance? Is it a discussion they’re [having] with the department of transport?

“So, unless an agreement is tied down, I can’t make a commitment as to when the gantries will go.”

Godongwana said Gauteng would have to figure out where they will get funding to service their portion of the debt. “Once that is in place, then we can start talking business,” he said

“Unless those conditions are met, there’s no way we can talk about dealing with that issue.”

Lesufi recently announced that the process to switch off and delink e-tolls would begin on 31 March. However, Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga said the e-toll programme had already been halted.

Speaking to Newzroom Afrika yesterday, Chikunga said the gantries would no longer be used for e-tolling, but would be repurposed as a security measure.

“We’re going to use the gantries for crime prevention purposes, but no longer for e-tolls,” she said.

While Godongwana said the parties were yet to sign an agreement, Chikunga said “there is nothing to sign”.

She added that an arrangement had already been concluded. “There’s no question about it.

“It’s agreed upon, it’s a foregone matter – Gauteng is going to pay 30% of the amount owed to the market and National Treasury will pay 70% of that,” she said.

According to Chikunga, the next step is for parties to keep up their end of the bargain – and to switch off the e-toll gantries to prevent further charges on motorists.

Meanwhile, Lesufi said on social media platform X yesterday that confusion around the phasing out of e-tolls would be cleared.

“E-tolls are history. We will clear the confusion. Thanks to transport minister [for] clarifying this confusion,” he said.