Ruling stiffens Sanral resolve

A R400 000 court judgment in Sanral’s favour for non-payment of e-toll debt has emboldened the road agency to continue launching legal action against defaulters.

This is in spite of Gauteng Premier David Makhura admitting during his state of the province address last month that the controversial project was a “mistake” his administration had failed to resolve, and asserting that “there will be no e-tolls” on any new roads that the province constructs.

In January, the High Court in Pretoria ordered Ekurhuleni-based company One Stop Building Supplies CC to pay Sanral R436 407 for defaulting on its e-toll payments.

Yesterday, Sanral’s general manager for communications, Vusi Mona, said this “precedent-setting” judgment had fortified the agency’s resolve to recoup outstanding e-toll debt.

He said Sanral was merely adhering to the precepts of the Public Finance Management Act.

“Like any other government agency, Sanral has a duty in terms of the Public Finance Management Act and Treasury regulations to collect all monies due to it.

“It’s an obligation we take seriously,” he emphasised.

“Hence we are appealing to all road users with outstanding e-toll debt to take into consideration that there are real consequences to continued delinquency, and that it is both a criminal and civil offence in terms of Section 27 (5) of the Sanral Act.”

Civil society group Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse said last week that One Stop Building Supplies was in liquidation and Sanral was “bound to receive very little from their effort. It is tantamount to kicking someone when they’re down”.