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Sanral has some bad news for everyone who has been ‘sticking it’ to e-tolls for the last few years.

Sanral and the Gauteng provincial government have said that they may not be able to legally write off outstanding e-toll debt, and that means you will have to pay up.

Well, you didn’t expect any good news to come from the same people who brought you the e-tolls, to begin with, did you? Nope, it’s Sanral, so, all bad, all the time. No commercials and no mercy for us Saffer’s.

Inclusive Society Institute (ISI), which has called into question the Gauteng provincial government’s plans to write off all outstanding e-toll debts, saying that it is not just or equitable to those who have diligently been paying their toll fees since 2013.

The institute has written to Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi to express their concern ‘over the principle of equality and fairness in writing off the debt of those who have infringed the law without providing equitable relief to those who have abided by the law.’

In other words, why should some people get off scot-free when there are law-abiding citizens who have begrudgingly paid their way on Gauteng roads? Fair enough.

After initially expecting that there would be some equitable way to solve the outstanding fees issue, the department has however just decided to write off outstanding debt, something that the group says is unlawful.

“This means that road users that have accumulated e-toll debt have no option other than to settle such debt to Sanral. The legal opinion states that the ‘South African constitutional law dictates that the South African National Roads Agency Limited does not have the power to retrospectively excuse the nonpayment of e-toll fees once incurred’.”

Lesufi has ‘expressed intent to find a solution for road users that have paid their toll fees – more specifically, plans to refund everyone.’ As can be expected though, Lesufi was just jabbering away again without consulting anyone that knows the law, and after obtaining their own legal opinion, ISI claims a blanket refund is just not possible.

According to BusinessTech, the Gauteng government has ‘been slow to provide clarity or updates on the murky waters of the e-tolls saga.’

Despite the system being scrapped on a political level, the laws that govern the system and permit billing and collection of owed fees are still very much in operation.  In addition to this, many questions linger about the debt owed by the province and how this will be paid for.

Can we just skip ahead to the part where taxpayers get screwed for the government’s ill-conceived screw-up? This would fit in well with the national slogan of ‘We break it, YOU buy it.’

The official opposition has predictably called the development ‘worrying’ as they sniff around the edges of a flogged-to-death scandal. Most motorists have however continued to flip the bird to the pretty booms and according to stats, only 15% to 17% of motorists comply with the additional taxes on roads that are already funded by taxes.

According to Lesufi, it would cost R6.9 Billion to refund all the law-abiding motorists. With the 2024 elections coming up next year, and the ANC in desperate need of cash, we doubt that citizens will be given any refunds of any kind, at any time. Indefinitely.

Clowns.

[source:businesstech]