Taxpayers from Gauteng and the rest of the country are contributing an additional R5.8 bn to covering the R20-bn costs of upgrading the Gauteng road network, in order to reduce toll fees. This was announced by transport minister Pravin Gordhan in his budget speech. The “special appropriation” of public funds “will reduce the debt to be repaid through the toll system, and will make a steeper discount possible for regular road users”. But, it seems the protests have not gone unnoticed: “Going forward, government will carefully evaluate future road infrastructure funding,” he said.
