The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) has raised concern about the delay in scrapping the e-toll system in Gauteng by December 31, 2022.
This comes after the provincial government announced in a statement that deactivation of the system had been delayed as an agreement with National Treasury had not yet been concluded. The government said December 31, 2022 had been pencilled in as the day to deactivate the e-tolls billing system.
“However, due to the need to finalise key components of the MOU (memorandum of understanding) between the national government and the provincial government, the matter will be finalised in the new year (2023)," the statement read.
The government assured motorists that the system would be deactivated, adding that Premier Panyaza Lesufi “wishes to assure Gauteng residents that there is no turning back on doing away with e-tolls”, and that a notice would be gazetted in early 2023.
The switch-off would then take place 14 days after publication of the gazette.
Outa said it was not surprised at “another delay” in scrapping the e-toll scheme, which had already missed several deadlines in recent years. It warned motorists that the delay meant that Sanral would continue to charge e-tolls until the legal process had been completed via the gazette.
Outa CEO Wayne Duvenage advised motorists not to pay the toll fees.
“We maintain that the very small percentage of road users who are still paying for e-tolls are wasting their money, as the likelihood of getting a refund is slim to zero. We have also pointed out that those who have refused to pay for this irrational and expensive scheme will not be subjected to all the negative consequences that Sanral had once threatened to apply,” he said.
“While the government continues to dilly-dally over the scheme’s final billing date, we suggest that the few who continue to contribute towards this defunct scheme should stop doing so now,” he added.
