Only 30% of E-toll invoices paid

In response to a Democratic Alliance Written Parliamentary Question, it has been established that between April 2015 and March 2017, on average, 70% of invoices issued by SANRAL, relating to the E-tolls scheme, have gone unpaid. This translates to only 30% of road users paying their E-tolls bills.

The attached table paints a vivid picture of the people’s rejection of a system that the ANC government imposed on them via the backdoor.

This does not surprise us, given the lack of consultation by SANRAL and Government, both Provincial and National, with the people of Gauteng. The will of the people and democratic processes were undermined in order to bulldoze through the unworkable and expensive system.

As the DA, we warned the ANC that they cannot force this system down the throats of already over-burdened South Africans, who cannot afford the additional tax. This is because the ANC does not listen and does not care about the people of South Africa, especially the poor who are affected by the rising costs of food due to the increased cost of transporting goods and services on Gauteng’s tolled roads.

There was a cheaper way to finance the project, which the DA proposed, through a 10 cents fuel levy. If this levy had been introduced, the roads would have been paid for already.

We also asked the Minister of Transport to provide the monetary value of the unpaid invoices during this period, to which she responded, “Due to the year-end processes and audits still to be concluded, the value of outstanding debt can’t be disclosed. This will be available once the Auditor-General has concluded the audit on 31 July 2017.” This is rubbish.

The Minister went on further to say that “[the] audited results as at 31 March 2016, reflects the outstanding value (trade receivables), which would be for unregistered users, as R7 206 million.” That is over R7 billion in unpaid invoices for registered users.

The people of Gauteng are tired of the ANC taking their money, only to use it on corrupt activities and to send it to Dubai with the Guptas.

The DA will continue to champion for an affordable system that does not overburden the residents of Gauteng. It is this kind of caring and responsive DA –led government that the people of Gauteng will vote for in 2019.

Statement issued by Fred Nel MPL, DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Roads and Transport, 10 June 2017