While the South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) on Tuesday welcomed the first instalment by the Gauteng provincial government of its contribution to the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP) e-toll debt, it is mulling its options over historic e-toll debt and payments already made by road users.

The controversial e-tolls systems was introduced in 2013 following the implementation of the first phase of the GFIP.

In 2022, amid high levels of nonpayment and civil disobedience towards the system, the GPG accepted its 30% debt contribution to settle Sanral’s debt and interest obligations, with national government covering the 70% balance for the scrapped GFIP tolling initiative. By April 2024, the gantries were switched off.

The first R3.8-billion instalment toward Gauteng’s agreed R12.9-billion contribution to historical e-toll debt was paid on Monday, with subsequent equal payments to be made every June over five years.

In total, about R20-billion is required to be paid by the province towards the e-tolls: R12-billion is debt, R4-billion is interest and R4-billion is maintenance.

Sanral is now in the process of obtaining legal advice regarding the historic road user debt and payments already made by road users, with a public announcement to be made once the process is completed, which includes relevant consultations.

Gauteng Finance and Economic Development MEC Lebogang Maile on Monday noted that the debt would not be written off and users that had paid would not be refunded, as prior to the official scrapping of the e-tolls process in April, it was the “law of the country” to pay for the use of the road.

He further commented that the user-pays principle remained intact.

“We cannot compromise on the user-pay principle, [however] . . . there have to be consultations and the Department of Transport will embark on the process.”

He pointed out that the GFIP was the first of three phases to improve Gauteng’s freeways and there was still a need to fund the second and third phases of the project to improve the roads and prevent gridlock.