Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Gwede Mantashe Says Fuel Levies Will Increase if eTolls Are Scrapped

• The Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Manatshe says getting rid of e-tolls will come at a cost for South Africans
• Mantashe says South African motorists may have to pay higher fuel levies if the government decides to put an end to the tolling system
• Social media users want to know why the burden of e-tolls is placed on them with some questioning how roads were paid for in the past

JOHANNESBURG - There are a lot of implications when it comes to getting rid of E-tolls says Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Manatshe.

Mantashe warns that if e-tolls are done away with then South African citizens will be charged extra in fuel levies.

The controversial tolling system was introduced in 2011 and a lot of South Africans have shown an aversion towards the implementation of e-tolls, with many not paying their fees. E-tolls were introduced as means to pay for R17.9 billion Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project, reports Fin24.

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Government cannot do anything about fuel hikes

Speaking at a bilateral discussion between South Africa and Nigeria, Mantashe says there really isn't anything the government can do about the fuel price increase, short of changing the formula used to calculate fuel prices.

Mantashe explains that changing the formula is not possible, according to a report by MyBroadband.

South Africans recently saw the price of petrol increasing by 75c and the price of diesel going up by 72c. This means that inland province motorists will be paying a little over R20 per litre for petrol.

Take a look at what South Africans have to say about the scrapping of e-tolls below:

@Riaan55608417 said:

"They need to stop stealing our taxpayers' money. Then we will not need all this crap."

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@mogalewakanyane said:

"Petrol has been going up even before there was etolls. So please Gwede mustn't come with excuses here. It raises a lot of questions as to why petrol is cheaper in Lesotho and Botswana and they buy it from SA."

@GBantomu said:

"So, if they were to be destroyed by some mysterious natural cause like fire causing lightning would Mantashe impose that on us through fuel levy?"

@Indepentdepend1 said:

"Gwede makes sense. If they scrap e-tolls, they must scrap all toll gates across the country."

@GPGNCSCRIBE_RAM said:

"I guess e-tolls were meant to fund the ANC, unfortunately motorists could careless. The challenge in South Africa is tax, next thing you will be paying levies for going to the rest rooms. Watch this space."

Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula says e-tolls will be scrapped

Briefly News previously reported that Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula says the decision on the continuation of e-tolls in the Gauteng province has already been taken by Cabinet but a formal announcement will be made in February 2022.

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Mbalula says the Cabinet decided to scrap the e-tolling scheme, however the National Treasury halted the implementation of the decision.

“When we went to Cabinet, a decision was taken. When it was supposed to be implemented to scrap the e-tolls, Treasury said ‘No, wait’,” said Mbalula.

Source: Briefly News