Pretoria - The South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL) says there has been an increase in the payment of etolls since Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a new dispensation on etolls in May.
Motorists are paying up to 50% less on their tariffs and those who have failed to pay in the past are eligible for a 60% discount on their debts.
SANRAL’s Chief Financial Officer, Inge Mulder, said the revised forecasts clearly showed that month-on-month there was an upward trend in payment since the Deputy President’s announcement.
“This is all we are saying, the facts don’t lie,” says Mulder.
She said when the Gauteng Premier David Makhura announced that an advisory panel would be set up to review the project, it caused uncertainty with an immediate and steep drop in income from a high of R120 million in June 2014 to R45 million in January 2015.
SANRAL said, after the announcement in May that the user-pay principle will stay but the tariffs will be reduced, etoll cash receipts began recovering and the trend is positive, from R61 million in April 2015 to R76 million in May, and R78 million in June and R82 million in July.
SANRAL’s spokesperson Vusi Mona said this meant that more motorists were paying their etoll bills.
“Most toll roads take between 16 and 22 years to break even. We are on track to beat that figure,” he said. - SAnews.gov.za
