Cosatu welcomes Cabinet decision to write off e‑toll debt

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) has welcomed Cabinet’s decision to allow the South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) to write off unpaid e‑toll amounts, bringing an end to a long-running dispute over the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP).

What Cabinet approved

On Sunday, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s cabinet approved a move that allows Sanral to eliminate unpaid e‑toll amounts from its books, the transport department said. The decision was described as effectively closing a contentious chapter in the GFIP saga.

Background and the scale of past estimates

The province’s electronic toll collections system was officially shut down in April 2024 by the then Gauteng MEC for economic development, Lebogang Maile. At that time, the total unpaid e‑toll debt was estimated at R43 billion, with the province carrying a 30% portion recorded as R13 billion and the national treasury covering the remaining 70% at nearly R30 billion, according to previously reported figures.

Reactions from unions and civil society

Cosatu, through spokesperson Zanele Sabela, welcomed the write‑off. Sabela said the federation had opposed the system from the start on principle, calling the user‑pay approach a double tax on road users and arguing workers were already contributing to roads via income tax and the fuel levy. She said: “Workers already pay income tax and contribute to the maintainance of roads via the fuel levy each time they fill up. To also be expected to pay for driving on the province’s freeways is akin to squeezing blood from a stone, workers have nothing more to give especially now, as fuel prices escalate due to the war in the Middle East.”

The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) also welcomed the move. Cabinet additionally approved the orderly resolution of litigation brought by Outa and the closure of matters associated with the historical recovery of e‑toll debt.

Litigation and summonses

Outa previously engaged in extensive legal battles against e‑toll debt and had established the E‑toll Defence Umbrella in 2015 to assist motorists facing summonses. The organisation was defending 2,028 cases on behalf of motorists, the source reported.

Sanral had stopped pursuing e‑toll debt and issuing summonses in March 2019, but remaining litigation matters continued. Outa said the Cabinet decision paves the way for those matters to be settled and brought to finality.

Official comments

Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni confirmed that motorists who had paid their tolls would not receive refunds, citing the laws that existed at the time of payment.

Transport Minister Barbara Creecy and her deputy Mkhuleko Hlengwa supported the regulatory decision. Creecy was quoted as saying:

“We are pleased to see the orderly closure of the GFIP matter,”

Outa CEO Wayne Duvenage welcomed the move as relief for motorists and said the decision acknowledged what Outa had argued since the scheme’s launch. He said the announcement would be welcome for motorists who received summonses and had awaited certainty, and warned the saga was a lesson about delayed corrective action when policy problems are clear.

What happens next

The Cabinet approval authorises Sanral to remove unpaid e‑toll amounts from its financial records and directs an orderly resolution of remaining litigation tied to the GFIP. Outa and Sanral are engaged in negotiations and mediation processes to settle outstanding summonses.