Old faces, new e-tolls bid
SHAREHOLDERS: SANRAL SERVICE PROVIDER HAS STAKES IN NEW BIDDER
Task team report on government options for e-tolls has been sent through for Cabinet processes.
Major initial shareholders in Electronic Toll Collection (ETC), the existing service provider to the SA National Roads Agency (Sanral) for the management of e-tolls, are shareholders in one of the bidders for a new e-tolls management tender.
Douglas Davey, who chairs the board of ETC, confirmed this on Thursday, adding ETC did not submit a bid for the tender because it is a special purpose vehicle and was therefore established only to manage and operate the Gauteng tolling system.
However, Davey said a company that did submit a bid was Kusa Kokutsha, in which SA-based TMT Services and Supplies has a 44% shareholding and Kapsch TrafficCom AG a 5% stake.
TMT is based in Cape Town and is described on its website as a Kapsch TrafficCom company, trading as Traffic Management Technologies (TMT).
The majority shareholder in Kusa Kokutsha is a staff trust, with a 51% stake in the company.
ETC’s original shareholders were TMT and Austria-based Kapsch TrafficCom AG.
The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) said this week three companies had submitted bids in response to a Sanral tender for the management of its open road tolling system in Gauteng, its national Transaction Clearing House (TCH) and its violations processing centre.
They are Phambili joint venture (JV) with a bid of R11.399 billion, Kusa Kokutsha (R7.548 billion) and SAETO, which did not list a bid amount, it said.
Sanral confirmed on Monday that it was evaluating tenders it received for the continued management of e-tolls after its existing contract with ETC expires on December 2.
Davey said on Thursday the main reason for creating this new company was to build a sustainable business entity that was truly transformed, locally owned and where all staff could participate in economic transformation.
“Through a staff trust, Kusa [Kokutsha] employees and other qualifying employees working for South African entities of the
Kapsch Group will have over 51% ownership of the business.
“With a membership of 90% black participants, the staff trust is truly empowered and this contributes to Kusa achieving a level 1 B-BBEE status,” he said.
Davey added that Kusa Kokutsha would have a broader service offering than ETC and provide smart mobility services to the industry across the continent, with Kapsch TrafficCom AG providing the global expertise needed.
“This access to global transport technologies and international expertise, combined with localised knowledge, sets Kusa apart from other intelligent transport solution players in the market.”
Davey said to provide a cost-effective and seamless approach for the tender, continuity of service and the retention of skills is needed.
“To do this, Kusa, if awarded the tender, will take over the majority of the skilled and trained ETC employees and will continue to enhance the technology platform developed by TMT Services and Supplies and its global partner.
“This not only makes sense in terms of the contract delivery but also alleviates any potential for job or skills loss in this specialised sector,” he said.
Sanral spokesperson Vusi Mona said this week that only part of the tender issued by Sanral relates to e-tolls on the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP).
Mona said the tender issued was scalable and, among other things, was for the operation of all services relating to the TCH, including the clearing of electronic toll transactions at conventional toll plazas and the suite of value-added services, such as parking payments.
Ayanda-Allie Paine, a spokesperson for Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula, confirmed this week that the task team report on government options for e-tolls had been sent through for Cabinet processes and her understanding was that it would be included for discussion by Cabinet before the end of the year.