Gauteng MEC for Public Transport and Roads Infrastructure Jacob Mamabolo has restated the long-standing position of the Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) and its opposition to the implementation of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP), otherwise known as E-tolls system.
Following distortions in the public discourse Mamabolo said that the Provincial Government has been seized with the matter of E-tolls with a view to oppose its implementation in Gauteng Province.
“We have made a very comprehensive submission to the President, the Minister of Finance and that of Transport which we believe can resolve the E-tolls matter once and for all. We have made a compelling case clearly stating that it is not correct for residents of our province to be burdened with paying for E-tolls,” said Mamabolo.
Mamabolo said that the Provincial government has been working with national government to ensure that implementation of E-tolls in Gauteng is halted.
Mamabolo said he wrote to Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula in November 2020 registering the provincial government’s rejection of the implementation of proposed Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Act (AARTO) regulations as another method of enforcing the E-toll system.
“We reject the proposed AARTO regulations which are another attempt to bring back the E-tolls system in our province. We are of the strongest view that the freeway network that is being tolled services the national economy and the Southern African Development Community as well as the international economy. It is therefore not fair to expect the people of our province to carry the burden,” added Mamabolo.
