The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) has warned that public resistance to e-tolls will not abate despite Finance Minister Tito Mboweni’s determination “to cling to the myth that the e-toll scheme is an efficient user-pays financial solution to settle the freeway upgrade bonds”.
CEO Wayne Duvenage says the gantries may be here to stay but the e-toll collections are not.
“The reality is that compliance is at an all-time low of 20%. It will be interesting to see how Government proposes to address this, as they have failed to do so for the past six years.
“Why is it so important for them to cling to a system that is the most expensive scheme in the world, which reeks of corruption from the road upgrade to the ETC contract, whose profits enrich a foreign company?” says Duvenage. The roads cost 100% more than they ought to have and the ETC toll collection contract was inflated by 60% above the tender.”
Duvenage says Outa will not give in on the e-toll issue.
“The test case that has been developed over the past two years has been abandoned or placed on hold for the past eight months by Sanral,” says Duvenage.
