Gauteng premier David Makhura's announcement this morning that the controversial electronic method of charging for use of freeways around Gauteng has been welcomed by those who oppose the system, albeit with caution.
Makhura said a panel would be set up to "review the impact of e-tolls and invite new proposals on how we can find a lasting solution to this matter, working with the national government, municipalities and all sectors of society. "The people's voice must be heard on all the issues that affect our province."
The pronouncement, contained in the state of the province address, comes as the South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) welcomes Moody's Investor Services' upgrade of its rating outlook from negative to stable. CEO Nazir Alli says "it is particularly welcome that Moody's have singled out the success of good e-toll collections related to the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project as a key factor in their decision."
The agency says the rating affirmation and outlook change is as a result of increased revenue thanks to e-toll collections, which bolstered Sanral's total toll annual revenue from R2.1 billion to R3.4 billion in the year to March. Sanral notes Moody's stated that it expects toll revenues to grow to R4.1billion by the end of the 2015 year, of which e-tolling will account for R1.8 billion.
Sanral says the growth in revenue will it to "continue executing its mandate given by government: to develop, finance and manage the national road infrastructure in South Africa".
No quick fix
The new premier did not promise "easy" solutions and victories, noting that good roads are vital to support economic development. While noting that the province could not "close our eyes to the cries of sectors of our population who are severely affected by the cost of travelling across the province," Makhura urged people to continue paying while a lasting solution is found, adding that the finance of such infrastructure must be "deliberated upon and agreed".
Makhura's statement comes about a week after the Sunday Independent quoted Gauteng transport MEC Ismail Vadi as saying the provincial government was taking a second look at the open road tolling system, which went live on 3 December
Vocal critic of the system, the Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance (OUTA) welcomed the announcement, but cautioned the review should not "become another co-option tactic that degenerates into a meaningless talk shop". Spokesman John Clarke said it "must be an honest and frank engagement by the authorities to unpack the real issues on the matter".
These sentiments were echoed by the Justice Project of SA (JPSA), which noted this is not the first time that such a panel has been established and the last time this was done through the inter-ministerial committee, "absolutely no blind notice was taken of any inputs civil society tried to make".
The non profit organisation adds that there has been no announcement as to when it the review panel will be established or how long it will take for this panel to find the lasting solutions "it purports to be seeking". It adds, however, JPSA is not opposed to "true dialogue finally being opened up," although this would be a waste of taxpayers' money when the only solution is to scrap the system.
JPSA notes there is still a serious matter looming for those who cannot or have not paid e-tolls because the discount extension announced in May comes to an end shortly. The association expects the South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) to start prosecuting non payers soon, and says Makhura previous statement that "if you don't pay your e-tolls, you don't have my sympathy", does not instil confidence.
However, OUTA chaiman Wayne Duvenage says Makhura appears to have a clear understanding of the irrationality and high costs of the debacle and that it is unaffordable to thousands of businesses and hundreds of thousands of citizens in the region.
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