Maimane calls for parliamentary review on e-tolls

E-tolling and its effects since implementation should be reviewed in Parliament, DA parliamentary leader Mmusi Maimane said on Monday.

The Democratic Alliance would ask the transport portfolio committee to do the review over the coming days, Maimane told reporters in Johannesburg.

"We contend because e-tolls were introduced by enabling legislation passed by the National Assembly, it's the responsibility of Parliament to monitor the impact of its implementation."

This included whether its stated aims and objectives were being met.

Electronic tolling of several of Gauteng's highways started at midnight on December 3 last year.

While the DA welcomed a recent announcement by Gauteng premier David Makhura that e-tolling would be reviewed, if the African National Congress was serious about the matter, Transport Minister Dipuo Peters should welcome the review, he said.

Maimane said funding for road construction and infrastructure development should come from the fuel levy, which would negate the further need for e-tolls.

"The e-tolls system is an economic burden that is putting further pressure on the strained finances of South Africans," Maimane said.

In his state-of-the-province address on June 27, Makhura announced plans to review e-tolling in the province.

"We shall set up a panel to review the impact of e-tolls and invite new proposals on how we can find a lasting solution to this matter, working with the national government, municipalities and all sectors of society," he said in Thokoza, on the East Rand.

"While we shall not promise easy solutions and claim easy victories, we must make it clear that we cannot close our eyes to the cries of sectors of our population who are severely affected by the cost of travelling across the province."

He said deliberations were needed on how to finance road infrastructure.