An e-toll gantry in Johannesburg. (Photo: Gallo Images / The Times / Daniel Born) The government has announced the write-off of all e-toll debt in Gauteng, marking victory in what is the first major taxpayer revolt in democratic South Africa.
Collection will cease immediately.
But, those who paid their e-tolls will not be refunded as they had paid what was legally due.
Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy said on Sunday that both she and her deputy, Mkhuleko Hlengwa, welcomed the Cabinet decision to green-light Sanral’s closure of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project’s (GFIP’s) historical e-toll debt.
This will include two matters: the closure of all historical e-toll debt and the resolution of all outstanding litigation matters
The statement said the decision was a long-awaited step in closing the GFIP e-toll saga in an orderly and responsible manner.
Creecy and Hlengwa said this brought much-needed relief and lessened the financial burden to road users hard-pressed by high fuel costs due to unfolding geopolitical issues.
GFIP was implemented and operated under the South African National Roads Agency SOC Limited (Sanral) in terms of the applicable tolling framework and approvals that were in place at the time. The e-toll system was introduced as a funding mechanism for the upgraded Gauteng freeway network.
The approval follows the government’s decision to close the GFIP e-toll scheme and the subsequent withdrawal of the GFIP toll declarations, which became effective on 11 April 2024.
What this means for motorists, according to the Minister’s statement:
- Outstanding and unpaid historical GFIP e-toll debt owed by road users will be written off;
- Sanral will not pursue any further collection of historical GFIP e-toll debt;
- Road users who lawfully paid e-tolls while the system was legally in force will not be refunded;
- The no-refund position arises from lawful levies at the time they were paid, that is, before the toll declarations were withdrawn; and
- The write-off of outstanding debt gives effect to the government’s decision to close the GFIP e-toll scheme and provide finality to road users, Sanral and the fiscus.
“Government reiterates that the close-out of GFIP e-toll debt is intended to provide certainty, resolve historical debt matters and support a sustainable approach to the funding, maintenance and improvement of South Africa’s national road network,” the statement continued.
E-tolls were officially launched in Gauteng in December 2013. Motorists were required to use e-tags for toll payments.
By 2014, political parties such as the DA and civil society, most notably Outa, at that time the Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance, led by Wayne Duvenage, were in open opposition to the scheme. Compliance rates began to fall as public resistance mounted.
By 2022, the national government announced its intention to scrap e-tolls. However, the actual switch-off was delayed due to unresolved issues in the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between national and provincial governments.
It was estimated in the following year that only about 10% of motorists were still paying e-tolls. Outa advised the public to stop paying, as refunds were deemed “slim to zero”. The scheme was widely criticised as corrupt and abusive, with operational costs far exceeding international norms.
The official announcement that e-tolls were to be scrapped, celebrated by Outa, civil society and the public, came on 28 March 2024, and was scheduled for 11 April 2024.
The Gauteng government has since taken over maintenance of 201km of tolled freeways from Sanral. DM