The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) has adopted the Transport Laws and Related Matters Amendment Bill - otherwise known as the E-toll Bill - in what an e-toll opposition group says was a surreptitious ramming through of the controversial law, which amended the SA National Roads Agency (Sanral) Act.
The passing of the E-toll bill essentially allows transport minister Ben Martins to make regulations regarding e-tolling. It also enables the collection of tolls and empowers the Cross Border Road Transport Agency to assist Sanral in the collection of tolls at border posts.
Last week the passing of the Bill was postponed "until further notice". The NCOP's decision was taken after a debate on the Bill yesterday, during which Martins outlined why the Bill is "essential" to the government raising funds to build and maintain roads.
In his motivation speech, Martins warned the Parliamentary body that failure to collect tolls would have very serious financial implications for both Sanral and the national government at large. "Sanral has issued bonds to fund the project of R20 billion plus capitalised interest amounting to approximately R3.4 billion that needs to be paid from the toll revenue."
Sanral says the reality of the current budget deficit, if allowed to increase by not implementing the e-toll system, will be detrimental to the economy and growth prospects of the country.
"Funding the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project through the user-pay principle has enabled the upgrading of some 201 kilometres of roads that would otherwise have taken in excess of 12 years to fund with the concomitant loss of opportunity," added Martins.
Sanral today said it welcomes what it says was an unemotional decision by the NCOP. Sanral CEO Nazir Alli says the Bill "enhances the legislative framework for the implementation of projects with e-tolling" and will help improve e-toll operations and enforcement.
"Users of Gauteng's e-roads have already reaped the rewards of the improvements and will continue to do so. This system will benefit the economy and not hinder it."
But Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance chairperson Wayne Duvenage says government has another thing coming. "What government has not accounted for, is the unexpected consequences of running roughshod over the [disapproving] public."
He says Sanral is desperate to drive e-tolls and, despite last week's postponement, furtively pushed the Bill along.
Duvenage says, considering the immense number of South Africans that do not support e-tolls, the system is doomed to fail.
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