‘E-TOLLS FAILED’
Gauteng premier says efforts to save project have crumbled Makhura says no new roads will be tolled
GAUTENG Premier David Makhura has washed his hands of e-tolls, saying the contentious project was a mistake which his administration had failed to resolve and that only the national government could break the impasse.
“I must admit publicly, as I did last year, that all the efforts we have made through the advisory panel have not led to the resolution of concerns of Gauteng motorists regarding affordability.
“We have tried our best. The ultimate solution can only come from national level,” said Makhura yesterday.
He was delivering his State of the Province Address in Randfontein.
The premier said his government would continue to engage with stakeholders over the matter “in order to represent the interests of our residents”.
Makhura established the advisory panel in July 2014 to conduct a comprehensive socio-economic impact assessment of e-tolls in the province following a huge public outcry.
The e-tolls issue is among factors identified as having contributed to the ANC’s electoral misfortunes in the province. It lost control of Joburg and Tshwane to a DA-led coalition in last year’s municipal elections.
The ANC has admitted that it lost votes in Gauteng because of e-tolls – an issue which labour federation Cosatu has marched against, calling on the ANC-led government to scrap them.
At the time of the implementation of the tolls, EFF leader Julius Malema said his party would physically remove the gantries because they didn’t agree with them, while the DA erected massive billboards on several Joburg freeways stating: “E-tolls. Proudly brought to you by the ANC.”
Yesterday Makhura said: “We are mobilising resources for public transport infrastructure in ways that will ensure that we don’t commit the same mistakes done with the e-tolls. We can’t build roads and only later inform citizens that they must pay. In fact, there will be no e-tolls on our new roads.”
Justice Project South Africa national chairperson Howard Dembovsky said they were delighted by Makhura’s admission that e-tolling on the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project was a mistake.
“Certainly, finally coming to admit one’s mistakes represents a superbly good start to finding a way to put right that mistake, and one can only hope that the premier’s colleagues who are higher up the food chain, as well as the arrogant individuals at Sanral (SA National Roads Agency Limited), will also come to realise this instead of continuing to seek to wage war with motorists who drive on these freeways,” he said.
Dembovsky added it was “anyone’s guess” as to when the national government, Transport Minister Dipuo Peters and Sanral would come to realise that e-tolls were a mistake, “scrap it and move on”.
He said the fact remained that the “enormously unpopular scheme has failed in a spectacular fashion and there exists less than zero chance that citizens will suddenly capitulate and buy into it”.
Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) chairperson Wayne Duvenage told Independent Media that it was not enough for Makhura to say they had done all they could to fight the matter.
“He has potentially a case to fight in court with the transport minister over e-tolling. He must not stand back because Gauteng is paying R260 million a year towards the e-tolls decision. They can rescind that and withhold payment,” said Duvenage.
He commended the City of Cape Town for its decision to successfully challenge Sanral’s decision to toll its roads. “They took on national government and won.”
About 95% of input received by Makhura’s advisory panel was that “e-tolls are impacting negatively on society”.
Duvenage said the premier couldn’t simply “wash his hands of the matter”, adding: “I don’t think he has taken the matter seriously. The ANC, Gauteng and Makhura are remiss in their duties to step up the fight for the rights of the citizens of this province.”
ANC provincial spokesperson Motalatale Modiba hit back: “That’s an opportunistic stance because the premier actually took the e-tolls matter on review following extensive engagements with the ANC in the province.”
Sanral could not reply to emailed questions yesterday as its spokesperson Vusi Mona was attending to a family matter in Mpumalanga.
GAUTENG Premier David Makhura has set a target to create more than 600 000 jobs in the formal sector before the end of his first term in office.
“In the next two years to be exact,” Makhura said.
The ever confident Makhura said Gauteng had been resilient as the economic and industrial hub of South Africa and the SADC region, while other provinces were struggling to meet their provincial job demands.
“Gauteng has recorded the largest net gain in new jobs created since the 2008 global financial crisis. Between 2010 and the end of 2016, our provincial economy created more than 700 000 new jobs. Since the start of the fifth administration in 2014, bi-annual employment has reached 317 000, thus breaking the ceiling of 300 000.
“Taking into account the dynamic of job losses in sectors such as manufacturing and mining as well as the gruelling reality that 42% of all migrants come into Gauteng, our employment gains are significant but not sufficient to turn the tide of unemployment,” he said.
To significantly decrease unemployment, his government needed to “double this number and reach at least 600 000 new jobs over a twoyear period from 2017 till 2019”.
“The rapid implementation of the new Provincial Economic Development Plan, which has been embraced by all stakeholders, will be the priority focus of Team Gauteng, in partnership with municipalities and social partners.
“We are engaging in an amazing work of direct interaction with business leaders at firm level and through what we call industry action labs to unlock the employment and empowerment potential of key sectors in our province.
“Together with industry leaders and municipalities, we are identifying and addressing local impediments that hinder the growth in employment, empowerment and exports,” Makhura said.
He said they were working in partnership with economists from the University of Johannesburg and the Gordon Institute of Business Sciences.
“In addition, we are doing work to enhance the contribution of innovation, research and development in partnership with the CSIR, University of the Witwatersrand and Vaal University of Technology through the Gauteng Innovation Hub,” he said.
Makhura also announced that his government was on a serious drive for foreign direct investment (FDI) in Gauteng. In 2015, Mozambique attracted more FDI than Gauteng, but Makhura was adamant that he could change that tide.
“Gauteng’s ability to attract FDI is unparalleled. Between 2014 and 2016 our provincial economy attracted R66 billion of FDI inflows. The Gauteng Investment Centre, our ‘onestop shop’, and the team at the Gauteng Growth and Development Agency are doing well in making Gauteng a preferred investment destination.
“With regard to tourism, Gauteng receives the largest number of foreign tourists, with 41.4% of the total. Gauteng has the highest number of bed-nights and most revenue generated, compared to other provinces, within the international tourist markets. We also receive the majority of African land-based tourists.
“The Gauteng Tourism Authority is doing a great job in promoting our province as a hub for business tourism,” he said.
Makhura said his government had since 2014 spent R6bn on township economies, from R600m in 2014.
“This represents 22% of the 30% target we have set for 2019. We are emboldened that we can reach 40% by the end of our term. The number of township enterprises benefiting from public procurement policy has increased threefold from 800 in 2014 to more than 2 800 by January 2017,” Makhura said.
According to him, more still needed to be done to improve township economies and the construction of necessary infrastructure to allow local businesses to do their jobs with ease and comfort.
“One of the instruments the government has to use to deracialise the economy and bring historically disadvantaged groups into the mainstream of the economy is public procurement policy.”