Outa’s Duvenhage tackles Sanral annual report
The Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance’s (Outa) Wayne Duvenhage has raised “a number of serious discrepancies and omissions” in the South African National Road Agency Limited’s (Sanral) annual report.
Duvenhage said in light of Sanral’s envisioned bond auctions today, “Outa believes these pertinent matters need to be disclosed to potential bond investors, who would otherwise be unfairly prejudiced by the information that appears to be craftily left out or framed in the report.”
He said when both the Sanral chairperson and CEO reports in the 2015 annual report were read, it was clear that an unrealistic picture of the situation within the state-owned entity was being painted.
“Mr [Nazir] Alli speaks of the decline in e-toll compliance since July 2014 as being directly attributed to premier [David] Makhura’s e-toll advisory panel discussions,” Duvenhage said.
“While this may have been partially to blame for some of the drop off, it is clear from Sanral’s own revenue trend graphs supplied to the media earlier this year that their e-toll income had plateaued at R120 million per month by June 2014, despite on-going threats of criminal prosecution of motorists who defied the scheme.
“In other words, Outa believes that Sanral’s e-toll compliance levels were never going to achieve significantly more than that reached by June 2014, seven months after the scheme was launched,” he said.
Sanral spokesperson Vusi Mona said it was widely recognised that “Sanral has an enviable record for its effective and prudent management. The auditor-general, again, found in the past year the agency’s financial statements ‘presented fairly, in all material respects’, its fi nancial position”.
Mona noted even though the auditor-general had made some adverse findings about aspects of Sanral’s reporting, the entity had unqualified audits for 12 years.
“The South African auditorgeneral, in 2010, received the highest award from the global body, the International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions, for its high standards and contributions in the field of public sector auditing,” Mona said.
“It is this independent and globally acclaimed institution whose ability to audit and verify Sanral’s published figures that is not trusted by Outa.”
“Outa remains extraordinarily focused on tolling and questions its legality when it has been held to be national policy and legitimate.”
Sanral respects the rule of law, Mona said. – Citizen Reporter