Outa: Failure to scrap e-tolls a ‘betrayal of trust’
The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) has described the government’s failure to scrap the e-toll system as a betrayal of people’s trust.
Outa says it has been a year since the government vowed to eliminate the unpopular user-pay system on Gauteng highways.
During the 2022 Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana promised to put an end to e-tolls, saying alternative funding mechanisms would be put into place to address the financing of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project debt.
This would include an allocation of funds by the provincial and national governments.
Outa CEO Wayne Duvenage says Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi also confirmed that e-tolls would be deactivated by 31 December 2022 and even mentioned the possibility of refunding a substantial sum of R6.8 billion to those who had previously paid.
Duvenhage says despite the promises, the system continues to place an unfair financial strain on residents of the province.
"This issue transcends the debate between national and provincial government responsibilities; it is about the irrationality and injustice of a scheme that has burdened Gauteng motorists for far too long".
“The continued delay in ending the e-toll system is a betrayal of the trust that citizens have placed in their government.”
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