The South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) will act in accordance with transport minister Dipuo Peters' call for it to hold off on prosecuting motorists who have not settled e-toll bills.
The controversial electronic highway system has met with much resistance from motorists, with the Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance indicating only 40% of travellers are paying their bills.
Peters has reportedly told the agency to hold off on going after those who have not paid up because of several outstanding issues, including inaccurate bills. The agency was not immediately able to provide an update on its move to fix its billing system.
Sanral spokesman Vusi Mona says "we act according to the shareholder's directive. The minister represents the shareholder - the government. Therefore, the agency acts in line with what the minister has said in this regard."
During her budget vote last week, Peters said the state continued to conduct reviews of the progress being made, and the challenges experienced, since the introduction of electronic tolling in Gauteng.
Peters also announced several "relief measures" to ease the burden on road users, including an extension of the payment period from seven to 51 days, and discounts for those who buy tags. This was in response to the call by president Jacob Zuma earlier this year to address electronic payment billing challenges in Gauteng, and make it easier for people to comply.
"We trust that these concessions will go some way towards lessening the financial burden on the part of users," said Peters.
The carrot-and-stick approach comes in the wake of an announcement by the National Prosecuting Authority that it has appointed two prosecutors to work with Sanral to establish whether non-compliant motorists have committed an offence in terms of the Sanral Act.
Share