Gauteng Premier Panayaza Lesufi cleared the air on how the province will settle the 30% outstanding debt from e-tolls.
Tabling his mid-term budget last week, finance minister Enoch Godongwana sais government will take over e-toll debt from the South African National Roads Agency (Sanral).
Confusion exists over the exact amount the Gauteng provincial government will have to pay to settle its 30% portion of the South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) debt on the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP) e-toll scheme following the agreement it reached with National Treasury.
Depending on which information you rely on, the amount could be R12.9 billion or 14 billion.
Inge Mulder, Sanral’s chief financial officer told Moneyweb that Sanral’s total GFIP loan debt is about R43 billion.
She said in terms of the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) announcement, national government would pay 70% of Sanral’s GFIP debt, which is R30.1 billion.
Mulder said the R23 billion allocated in the MTBPS to Sanral therefore reduces the national government’s portion to about R7 billion.
According to Lesufi, the province’s 30% share will be sourced through “consultation”.
Lesufi was responding to DA MLP Fred Nel’s claims tat e-tolls have not been scrapped and will become an income generator for Gauteng.
“These things are gone, Mr Nel. We are meeting with minister of transport on Tuesday to settle outstanding matters like what happens to those who paid e-tolls, the maintenance, staffing and so on.
“On how Gauteng province will fund the 30%, that answer will be sourced through consultation,” said Lesufi.
Last week the Gauteng premier welcomed the scrapping of e-tolls, saying it was a victory for the people of Gauteng who had to pay for e-tolls that serve a national purpose.
“We heard you, people of Gauteng, as per the announcement by minister Godongwana we have agreed to the formulation of a new revenue enhancement model which excludes tolling. We are ready to start a new life without e-tolls,” he said.
Source: Times Live, Moneyweb, image from Twitter: @gussilber