Sanral Wants a Piece of the Pie: Farmers, EV Chargers Fight Back Against ‘Overreach’ on Roadside Business

Owners and operators of roadside businesses are up in arms over proposed amendments to the South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) policy on rest and service facilities (RSFs) along national roads.

They maintain that Sanral will be exceeding its mandate by trying to regulate the type of business that may operate, where, its location, and the profile of the people running the businessand this on private land.

The Amendments

The proposed changes, published in the Government Gazette on 23 February , would allow Sanral to:

• Regulate business types, locations, and operators on private land

• Participate in the business of providing EV charging stations

• Levy a percentage of business turnover (possibly up to 10% )

• Limit rights to 10 years , subject to review

The comment period closes on 25 March.

The EV Charging Fight

Joubert Roux, chair of the Charge Group , says Sanral wants to act as both regulator and market participant.

The Charge Group has started rolling out EV charging stations and plans to build a network with facilities every 150km on all national routes.

They invest R16.5 million per charging station , with a further R6 million to increase capacity as the market grows.

Roux warns that Sanral’s move risks delaying the rollout of critical EV and energy infrastructure needed for South Africa’s energy transition.

If the amendments are adopted, the Charge Group says this will introduce:

• Uncertainty for investors through discretionary decision-making

• Retrospective application to pending applications

• Undefined or non-binding administrative timelines

The Farmers’ Fight

Bennie van Zyl, general manager of agricultural union TLU , says the amendments will impact farm stalls.

“Sanral wants to regulate what private landowners do on their land, interfering with their constitutional right to run a business on their own property.”

Colin Steyn, a retired farmer who has leased 5 hectares of his farm next to an interchange on the N1 outside Bloemfontein for an EV charging station, says Sanral wants “a piece of the pie.”

The monthly rental income from the charging station will support his farming activities.

France Mathibela, who owns a farm near Balmoral on the N4 freeway, has also objected.

He has made a portion of his land available for charging stations for passenger vehicles and trucks.

“How can Sanral decide what I can do on my land? It is unfair towards me and the farming community if [Sanral] without jurisdiction can stop me from earning an income from my land.”

The Legal Argument

The Charge Group argues that Sanral is exceeding its statutory mandate under the Sanral Act by extending into:

• Land-use planning

• Environmental regulation

• Commercial market structuring

Sanral’s mandate, they say, should be limited to road access, road quality, and safetynot regulating businesses on private land.

The Delay Problem

Roux says applicants currently wait up to 1,000 days for Sanral’s response to applications.

“The municipality does not do anything without Sanral’s input.”

He questions whether Sanral has deliberately delayed matters in anticipation of implementing the amendments.

The Bottom Line

Sanral says its goals are transformation, road safety, user convenience, and environmental responsibility.

Farmers and EV investors say it’s overreachand they’re fighting back.

The comment period ends today. The battle over who controls the roadside is far from over.