Why are e-tolls here to stay? Solly Msimanga weighs in

Finance minister Tito Mboweni’s comments on e-tolls confirm that under the ANC administration the gantries are here to stay, said DA caucus leader Solly Msimanga.

Last week, in his State of the Province Address (Sopa), Gauteng Premier David Makhura said e-tolls have no future in the province.

However, in a series of tweets, Mboweni insisted that e-tolls won't be removed.

He said there should have been a plan at the introduction of e-tolls to ensure the system worked and yielded returns in the long term.

Makhura hit back at Mboweni, saying he had no power on the matter as he is not the president.

In a statement, Msimanga said Mboweni's statement on Twitter confirmed what the DA has said all along - e-tolls are here to stay.

"Taking to Twitter, Mboweni lambasted Makhura, stating that the unjust user-pay system on Gauteng’s freeways will not be removed under his watch," he said.

According to Msimanga, Mboweni, not Makhura, has the final say on the matter as he is the national finance minister.

"Mboweni’s utterances that the people who cannot afford the e-Tolls don’t pay because public transport is exempt from the system do not pay shows how far removed the ANC are from the lived experience of the vast majority of Gauteng’s residents," said Msimanga.

He added that, if by August, the e-Toll gantries are still on, the DA will take steps to declare an inter-governmental dispute to have the system set aside.

"No longer can the people of Gauteng be hoodwinked by the ANC’s double standards on e-Tolls.

"We will not stand by while the people of Gauteng continue to suffer under ANC factionalism and double-speak," he said.

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