MEC of Roads and Transport in Gauteng,
Dr. Ismail Vadi,
SANRAL Board Chairperson, Ms Tembakazi Mnyaka,
The CEO of SANRAL, Nazir Alli,
Department of Transport and SANRAL officials,
Members of the Fourth Estate,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning.
At one minute past midnight, tolling on the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project officially started. It has been long, and sometimes difficult, journey since this project was first conceptualized in 1996.
In November 1996, the Province of Gauteng identified a toll roads network project for the province. This was followed in 1998 by the Gauteng Toll Road Strategy.
In September 2006, the Guateng transport network integration process produced a proposal for a "Gauteng Freeway improvement Scheme".
The proposal identified certain challenges in relation to the Gauteng transport system, the key one being insufficient road space relative to transport demands.
In July 2007, the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Scheme was tabled before Cabinet for approval. The scheme espoused the user-pay principle and recommended an electronic recording of tolls payable.
Cabinet approved the Scheme and confirmed that the Guateng Freeway Improvement Project would be undertaken by SANRAL as a toll road, with tolls to be collected through an electronic open road system. This decision was taken after due consideration of the feasibility of the proposed open road tolling system in comparison with alternative funding options (such as a fuel levy, shadow tolling, vehicle registration, licence fees, traffic fines and development impact fees). As a result of that Cabinet decision, SANRAL was obliged in terms of the SANRAL Act to finance the project through raising debt, and not through funds appropriated by Parliament for non-toll roads.
Cabinet's decision was underpinned by, among others, the 1996 White Paper on Transport Policy which incorporated tolling as one among several options that will be used to fund road infrastructure, particularly those roads that can be classified as economic.
Cabinet's decision was also informed by a set of inter-connected logistical, spatial, developmental, economic and social considerations.
I relate this history in order to place the context of this project in its proper perspective. SANRAL did not just wake up one morning and decide that it was going to toll certain sections of the Gauteng highways. Also, Cabinet did not just approve the project without applying its mind and taking into account the country's transport policy framework.
Since then, a lot has happened. The project has been delivered, debates have raged on and court cases have been fought. These, unfortunately, have been accompanied by a degree of polarisation of our society. Four court cases have now been heard on this matter and in all those instances, the courts have ruled in favour of SANRAL and Government.
We are disappointed that some of our citizens and leaders, including those who have in the past styled themselves as champions of the rule of law, will not, this time around, accept the rule of law. It is a sad day when those who profess to be democrats question the integrity of the judiciary and will not accept its ruling simply because the decisions have not gone their way. And, it is an independent judiciary we are talking about here.
Ladies and gentlemen, the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project has provided critically required road infrastructure as part of the network in Gauteng to address congestion and the impact thereof. The impact of congestion is social in that it does determine the amount of time people spend commuting or away from their families. The impact of congestion can also be economic because of the time lost and the constraints it can place on a region's ability to grow and create jobs. The impact can also be environmental because of the fuel consumption and emissions caused by congestion.
This project has enabled us to mitigate the above impacts.
Through the project:
- 201 km of freeways have been upgraded;
- 585 km of new traffic lanes have been added;
- 34 interchanges were significantly upgraded;
- 4 new directional ramps were built; and
- Intelligent Transport Systems and Incident Management Systems were deployed.
These improvements are there for all to see. They cannot be disputed.
The upgrades, which came at a cost, resulted in massive travel time reductions as well as savings in vehicle operating costs. These savings amount to more value to the road user than the toll fee that is payable.
It is very unfortunate that when people complain about the cost of e-tolls, they do not look at the benefits. Particularly strange is the suspension of the cost-benefit analysis of this project by some of our
business stakeholders who should know better.
The system we are running here will enhance safety on our roads because we have high definition cameras on the highways that are monitoring traffic on a 24/7 basis. Any incident that happens on the network can be responded to immediately. Also, the system will enable us to address the problem of number plate cloning. We have law enforcers who are sitting in this centre and can activate an immediate response to any suspect vehicle on the network.
Since the first announcement of the toll tariffs in February 2011, several stakeholder engagements took place, and Government, in considering the issues raised, announced twice a reduction in the toll tariffs. These reductions were achieved by mainly the increase of the debt repayment period, and a R5.7 billion contribution by the National Treasury. The tariff history is there for all to see.
The tariffs gazette also makes provision for various discounts, including frequent user discounts, time of day discounts and monthly toll caps for users registered with e-tags. Also, qualifying registered public transport from the payment of tolls on the e-tolled road network.
Thus, relief has been provided for those already using public transport, or those who may elect to use public transport as an alternative to the use of private transport.
All the above-mentioned concessions are proof that Government did listen to the concerns of our citizens and tried to mitigate the impact of e-tolls. Amilcar Cabral could have had in mind those who say Government did not listen to the issues raised when he said: "Tell no lies, claim no easy victories." Government did listen and it did respond.
The monthly toll costs to individual users are much over-estimated by critics of the project. Actual expected monthly tariffs payable by light motor vehicles show that about 83 percent will pay not more than R100 per month and 0.59 percent of motorists in the same vehicle class will reach the maximum monthly cap of R450. These numbers have been derived from the actual vehicle data collected by the toll system. Again, those who oppose the project are free to do so but even from opponents certain minimum standards are expected when it comes to engagement and debate.
Ladies and gentlemen, as South Africans and through the SANRAL Act, we have given the agency the mandate to provide a well managed and maintained national road network. SANRAL has been very successful in carrying out this mandate, as is demonstrated by the quality of the national road network in general and the Gauteng Freeway Improvement
Project in particular.
I would like to encourage our citizens, particularly the users of the e-tolled roads here in Gauteng, to cooperate with the agency so that it can continue to deliver world class roads. Your cooperation can be demonstrated by getting registered, getting tagged and paying your toll fees.
Let me conclude by thanking those individual motorists and fleet operators who have so far registered e-toll accounts and acquired e-tags for their vehicles. As of yesterday, we have slightly below 800 000 e-tags that have been committed.
Working together, we can deliver quality road infrastructure.
I thank you.
