GFIP stakeholder consultations kick off

Friday, June 15, 2012

Pretoria - Cabinet has noted the stakeholder engagement process of the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP) starting today.

Performance, Monitoring and Evaluation Minister Collins Chabane said engagements were to be held with Business Unity South Africa (Busa) this afternoon.

According to Busa, the engagement with Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe will be around e-tolling, labour laws and infrastructure development.

The stakeholder engagement process of the IMC will include engagement with the Road Freight & Care Hire Associations next Tuesday and again with the Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance (OUTA) next Thursday.

Briefing reporters on Friday, Chabane said other stakeholders will be announced when dates are confirmed.

In May, government said it was considering introducing a special Appropriation Bill to help the South African National Road Agency Limited (Sanral) to meet its obligations in the short-term.

The Deputy President said Sanral had borrowed R20 billion to fund the project and the delay in the collection of toll fees had resulted in the roads agency not being able to meet its contractual obligation.

Government has lodged an appeal in the Constitutional Court over the North Gauteng High Court's judgement, which last month halted the 30 April implementation date of e-tolling.

Motlanthe said if the Appropriation Bill was passed, government may have to take away money from other allocations in the fiscus.

A range of funding options was being considered by the government, but added that the Appropriation Bill would give Sanral and its debtors the assurance that the government would honour the debt, particularly with an important payment Sanral was due to pay in January next year.