E-Toll Pain Not Over: Outa Takes on Sanral Over R265 Million in Outstanding Debt

The e-toll saga is not over yet.

Motorists with outstanding e-toll bills could still be held liable for their debts as the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) and the South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) prepare for formal mediation.

The Numbers

Outa CEO Wayne Duvenage told City Press that the case involves 2,028 individuals and businesses totalling R265 million.

• Largest claim against a business: R13.5 million

• Largest claim against an individual: R815,000

The Dispute

Outa filed papers against Sanral in the Pretoria High Court in August 2025, seeking an order instructing the roads agency to abandon its summonses for e-toll debt.

The court suggested that Outa and Sanral first try to settle before further court proceedings. Duvenage hopes the mediation process will bring clarity.

But if no agreement is reached, the dispute will return to court.

Outa’s Argument

Outa’s stance is that motorists can no longer be held liable for e-toll debt.

The organisation argues that Sanral effectively abandoned the cases after its board resolved in March 2019 to suspend e-toll debt collection.

“In the six years since then, Sanral has taken no further steps on these cases, and Outa is now seeking legal finality on the matters.”

According to Outa, Sanral dropped the recovery of historical e-toll debt in practice after that resolution. Therefore, the claims have died in practice and should be formally terminated.

The Context

Gauteng shut down the controversial e-toll system, including billing from overhead gantries through the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project, in April 2024.

The shutdown followed years of mass refusal to pay, leaving a large debt.

The mediation comes as the Gauteng Provincial Government has agreed to pay 30% of Sanral’s debt and obligations, with the national government paying 70%.

The Northern Toll Gates

While the e-toll system is dead, two toll plazas in northern Pretoria continue to frustrate motorists.

The Stormvoël and Zambesi ramp tolls connect the N1 highway to local roads. They were originally intended for industrial and freight traffic but are now used daily by commuters.

• Stormvoël: R12.50 per trip for light vehicles

• Zambesi: R15 per trip

For a Waverley resident working in Hatfield, Lynnwood, or Menlyn, that’s R550 per month to cover less than 10km of highway.

Rekord reports that the toll gates have become such a frustration that they are expected to be a major feature in ward councillors’ campaigns in the upcoming municipal elections.

The Bottom Line

R265 million. 2,028 motorists. Six years of suspended collection. And a mediation that could decide whether the debt is deador just dormant.

Outa says it’s over. Sanral hasn’t said much. And for the motorists caught in the middle, the wait continues.

{Source: Mybroadband}

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