E-tolls Scrapped, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi Says It's Time to Focus on Crime and Corruption

• Gauteng residents will no longer have to worry about paying e-tolls after they were scrapped on Wednesday, 26 October
• Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi is optimistic about the province's future now that that chapter has been closed
• While many people are happy about the outcome, some citizens want to know if they will be refunded for paying the e-tolls fees they paid several years ago

JOHANNESBURG - It is the end of a chapter for Gauteng residents as Sanral walks away from the tolling system on Gauteng freeways. The announcement was made on Wednesday, 26 October, during the medium-term budget speech.

Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi said the province was ready to start a new life without e-tolls.

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced that Sanral would be allocated R23.7 billion and will also receive assistance from the National Treasury and the Gauteng provincial government to pay off its R47 billion debt, according to News24 Business.

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Godongwana stated that the government would foot the bill for 70% of Sanral's debt while the Gauteng government would be responsible for 30% of the debt.

The e-tolling system was heavily criticised by Gauteng motorists, leading to civilian disobedience as many opted not to pay their fees. Sanral admitted in Parliament that since it could not enforce e-tolls, it stood to lose R10 billion in revenue in the coming year.

In a social media post, Lesufi stated that scrapping e-tolls was not easy but necessary. He further stated that the provincial government can now focus on addressing issues such as crime and corruption.

"Now that the e-tolls are done, our next task is to tackle, harshly so, crime, corruption, lawlessness and vandalism in Gauteng. Watch this space," said Lesufi.

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South Africans react

@goolammv said:

"Promises made, promises kept, an excellent start. Well done team Panya Panya."

@Rebalo80 said:

"Now deal with illegal dumping, illegal structures, littering and grass cutting on our highways."

@XolaniXtx said:

"The removal of e-tolls is due to the people’s non-compliance to paying them. This is just official to politicians, but thina we never really had e-tolls because we rejected them."

@fergusruimsig said:

"Hi, Premier. I have been paying e-tolls since their inception in accordance with the laws of the country. How will I be compensated, or is that just the luck of the draw? @brucebusiness @Bruceps"

E-tolls scrapped after robust conversations with the ministry of finance

Briefly News previously reported that Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi is adamant that the Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana will announce the scrapping of e-tolls during his mid-term budget speech. Lesufi stated that he is confident the minister will permanently close the e-toll chapter.

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Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi says Minister of Finance Enoch gondogwana will scrap e-tolls

Speaking on eNCA, Lesufi stated the Gauteng provincial government has had many robust discussions with the ministry of finance about e-tolls and says they presented their case really well.

"Well, we are convinced that it will be a moment of truth. That decisive moment is whether we will know we have e-tolls or not. We have put a very strong case argument as the province."

Source: Briefly News