So many questions: on Gauteng premier David Makhura's critique of e-tolls

26 February 2017 - 02:00 By Chris Barron
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South African National Roads Agency plans for a toll road in the Western Cape have been halted and Gauteng premier David Makhura says e-tolls are a mistake. Chris Barron asked campaigner against e-tolls Wayne Duvenage ...

Has the battle been won?

Not until they pull the plug, not until they acknowledge that they're going to stop charging the 20% who are continuing to pay under duress. It's still on but it's failed completely, with less than 20% of people paying. They're collecting between R60-million and R65-million a month.

What do they need to be collecting?

For the system to work the way they envisaged, they need to be collecting - and said in court papers they were confident of collecting - R280-million a month. That would be 93% compliance. To pay their collection costs and start settling the bonds.

At the moment they're barely covering their collection costs. All of the money is going to collection, whereas they'd planned for 27% to go to collection.

Even that is a lot, isn't it?

It's highly expensive and irrational. Collection costs shouldn't be more than 10%.

Internationally, intelligent e-tolling systems do not attract an admin cost of more than 10%.

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What's the result of the shortfall?

The bonds aren't being repaid, debt is being run up. I think it's over R9-billion now. And the public is not paying. Sanral cannot enforce it. I mean, how do they suck R9-billion out of the Gauteng economy? They can't, they'd kill it.

The taxpayers are going to end up paying either way, aren't they?

Public infrastructure has to be paid for somehow. But it could have been done using the fuel levy, as it was before. If there's one brilliant, efficient user-pays scheme that we've got in this country, it's this. It brings in R65-billion a year, Sanral gets R12-billion. Now, after the latest increase from Treasury, R15-billion.

If they'd increased the fuel levy by 9c in 2008 when the decision to introduce tolls was made, they would have paid these roads off by now.

Instead we have a government at war with its citizens and a debt of R9-billion.

What do you make of Makhura's announcement that e-tolls were a mistake, they're not going to do it again?

He was vociferous against the e-tolls right from the beginning. Then he got into power and held a public engagement process. Ninety-five percent of the people said: "Stop this system now, do what you can."

What did he do? He did nothing. Now he's saying it's a mistake.

He says he couldn't do anything because it's an issue for the national government.

It's too easy for him to wash his hands and say it's national government's fault. He's got to put the pressure on the minister [of transport, Dipuo Peters], tell her: "These roads are in my province." He's got to do what the Western Cape did. When Sanral said "We're coming to toll your roads", they said: "Not until you do it properly."

And the Western Cape stopped them in their tracks and got the courts to agree with them right to the Constitutional Court.

That is how local government challenges national government when they are out of line. Makhura did nothing to challenge national government because they were his bosses.

The Western Cape said: "Stuff that, we don't have to report to the ANC, we're going to challenge this." And they were successful.

Makhura thought it was his duty as an ANC member not to challenge it. Now he sits with this mess and he says it's a mistake.

block_quotes_start Makhura needs to put pressure on the minister. Tell her to 'tear down the gantries because they're upsetting my people, the people in my province, and I am going to lose the elections as the ANC in 2019'

So will the gantries come down?

That's the big question. Makhura mustn't just say it's a mistake, he must tell the minister to switch them off.

She's on record as saying e-tolls are here to stay. With 20% of the people paying? Is she happy with that? What is she going to do about the other 80%?

If she can't get this to where it should be as a proper user-pays scheme, then she's got to pull the plug.

Until then it's just political posturing?

Yes, exactly. Makhura needs to put pressure on the minister. Tell her to "tear down the gantries because they're upsetting my people, the people in my province, and I am going to lose the elections as the ANC in 2019 unless you take these damn gantries down".

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Was there enough evidence before?

Makhura had his panel in 2014, which provided all the evidence he needed to show the minister it was a big mistake. He didn't use that opportunity to pull the plug.

Organisation after organisation attended those hearings and 95% of them told him to get rid of the gantries.

Instead of taking this opportunity to stand up to the minister, he did nothing. Now he says it's a mistake.

So after eight years ... ?

All you have is a very successful civil disobedience campaign, rising debt, and the minister of finance having to bail them out.

Has anybody been prosecuted for not paying?

No. They've issued 6,000 summonses and there's a test-case process under way.

Who are the 20% who are paying?

The car-rental companies which do business with the government, the fleet companies. They don't want to upset the government, so they pay.

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