Gauteng Premier Payaza Lesufi says e-tolls will be scrapped as soon as the necessary processes to conclude an agreement with the National Treasury is complete.
The Gauteng provincial government is considering selling prime properties in order to cover the costs of paying back e-toll debt to Sanral, Lesufi said on Friday.
He also reassured Gauteng residents that whatever financing model was decided upon, tolling would not be part of it.
Lesufi was briefing Journalists in Johannesburg on Friday on the announcement made by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana last week that Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) will take over responsibility for the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Programme, which includes the repayment of some of the debt and future maintenance costs.
“The provincial executive council met yesterday (Thursday) and went through the relevant reports and information received. We resolved that we need to meet the ministers of finance and transport to conclude outstanding matters, which include determining the exact figure of the 30% contribution that we need to make towards settling the debt.
“Our proposal as the provincial government was mainly and only on the 30%, but the minister’s speech included maintenance. We are not rejecting or objecting because these are national roads and if we as Gauteng are expected to maintain them, there must be due process. Therefore, we believe the meeting will clarify those aspects.
“There are also people who have been paying e-tolls and they expect clarity from us. We need to know what will become of the process of deregistering e-tolls,” Lesufi said.
The Premier said the province’s suggestions to raise revenue for the GFIP included securing agreement from treasury to extend the repayment of the debt over a period of 20 years or more; requesting an increased allocation of funds from the national government for road maintenance ; selling some of the land parcels owned by the province; as well as possibly raising further revenue from charges such as motor vehicle, licenses, liquor licenses, gambling licenses or for outdoor advertising.
Source: Times Live, Business Tech, News24 Business, image from Twitter: @LivePretoria