No end in sight for e-Tolls

26 February 2020

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng is once more disappointed that Premier David Makhura did not announce any concrete solution to e-Tolls during his State of the Province Address (SOPA).

During his SOPA yesterday, Premier Makhura only indicated that President Cyril Ramaphosa will make an announcement soon on the matter.

Today, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni will be delivering his Budget speech and it is expected that he will once again reiterate his position of the user-pay principle when it comes to e-Tolls.

This is a clear indication that Premier Makhura is just shifting the goal post on making an announcement on e-Tolls and that no concrete solution has been found to e-Tolls.

This is despite residents of Gauteng making it clear that they are not prepared to pay for a system that they did not agree to.

It is high time that Premier Makhura is honest with the people of Gauteng about the future of e-Tolls instead of kicking the announcement to a future date as he has done during SOPA.

The DA is disappointed by Premier Makhura’s lack of action on the matter, because there is a clear and viable alternative in the form of ringfencing a few cents per litre from the fuel levy.

Issued by Fred Nel, DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Roads and Transport, 26 February 2020