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- Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi has set 31 March as the new date for the scrapping of e-tolls.
- He was speaking at the Gauteng State of the Province Address.
- This is over a year after the switch off was initially scheduled.
- For more financial news, go to the News24 Business front page.
Over a year after the end of e-tolls was promised, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi announced that the formal switch-off would now begin on 31 March this year.
Speaking at the Gauteng State of the Province Address on Monday, he said a meeting was held with Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana and Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga, and an agreement was reached that the process to have e-tolls formally switched off and delinked would begin at the end of March.
"E-tolls will be history in our province. The minister of finance will elaborate on this subject," he said, hinting that Godongwana would provide more details during his Budget speech on Wednesday.
E-tolls were originally set to be scrapped on 31 December 2022, but negotiations between the Gauteng government and the National Treasury proved to be challenging.
READ MORE | Scrapping of e-tolls delayed into the new year
The failure of the e-toll system meant that the SA National Roads Agency (Sanral) accumulated huge amounts of debt that put the agency under financial stress.
In October 2022 Godongwana set out a plan to save Sanral by taking on some of the agency’s debt. The Gauteng government would also take on a portion of the debt and enter into an agreement with the national government to create systems that could raise revenue for maintenance once e-tolls were gone.
EXPLAINER | The life and death of e-tolls
The negotiation proved tricky and no new deadline for ending e-tolls was set for over a year after the 31 December 2022 deadline was missed.
All the while, Sanral was still collecting e-toll revenue from Gauteng motorists while the scrapping delays persisted.
READ MORE | Sanral scores nearly R280m and counting in e-tolls as scrapping delays persist
A total of R272.5 million was collected from Gauteng motorists in the first half of 2023.
Lesufi recognised that "the people of Gauteng have rejected e-tolls".
