#e-TollsMustGoNow: Cabinet must urgently make a decision on the future of e-Tolls

6 December 2020

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng notes with great concern, that the e-Toll contract with Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) has once again been renewed.

This clearly means that the ANC government does not have any intention to scrap e-Tolls any time soon and they are making empty promises that the matter is at a critical stage and is being looked into.

It is now more than a year since President Cyril Ramaphosa indicated that cabinet will make a decision on the future of the e-Tolls, but yet we are still waiting on a decision.

It is unacceptable that the ANC government continues to mislead people on the e-Toll matter to the extent that they used it as an electioneering tool last year, when they knew that they had absolutely no intention of finding a viable solution to e-Tolls.

The residents of Gauteng have made it clear that they are not willing to pay for e-Tolls as it was something that they were not consulted on before it’s implementation. Given the current economic climate, e-Tolls is something that our residents in Gauteng are unable to pay.

As the DA we have always been against the implementation of e-Tolls as it is an unfair tax burden on the residents of Gauteng. Further to this we have also suggested that a portion of the fuel levy be used to pay for the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project.

It is clear that the ANC has no clue about what it is doing when it comes to finding a resolution to e-tolls. The DA has previously put forward a solution to e-Tolls by suggesting that a few cents from the fuel levy be ring-fenced to pay for the e-Tolls, but instead it is being used to bail out State Owned Enterprises (SOEs).

The e-Toll system must be scrapped before it turns motorists into criminals. The DA will continue to put pressure on National and Provincial Government to make a decision on the e-Toll system.

Issue by Fred Nel, DA Gauteng Shadow MEC For Roads and Transport, 6 December 2020