THE controversial e-tolls are still active in Joburg, Gauteng.
And this is almost a year after it was announced that they would be scrapped.
In October 2022, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi announced that the controversial tolls would be discontinued.
Now opposition parties say the contract to operate the e-tolls had been extended until December 2023.
In the meantime, e-tolls remain active, and motorists are still getting debt collection letters.
The abolishment of e-tolls was also supported by the Department of Finance after Minister Enoch Godongwana announced that the government would cover 70% of the debt that the South African National Road Agency would incur as a result of the closure and the province would contribute the remaining 30%.
Godongwana said the cost of maintaining the affected 201-kilometres of road, the associated interchanges and additional investments in the future would be funded either through the existing electronic toll infrastructure, new toll plazas, or other revenue sources.
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According to Fred Nel, the Democratic Alliance's shadow MEC for roads and transport, Lesufi has misled Gauteng residents to believe that e-tolls has been scrapped while the contract has been extended for another six months.
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This means that Gauteng motorists will continue to pay for this unwanted system, until December 2023.
He also accused the premier of using e-tolls as an electioneering tool to garner votes for next year's elections, without considering the impact on people's daily lives.
"Premier Lesufi has no proper plan in place to deal with this issue. He is still battling to find a financial model for the replacement of e-tolls."
Nel added: “Lesufi is mum about the issue instead of coming clean and engaging different stakeholders and political parties represented in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature to assist with a lasting solution for e-tolls.”
The premier’s spokesman Sizwe Pamla said the Gauteng provincial government and the National Treasury and transport departments were in discussions on how to go about scrapping the tolls.
Once they have finalised this and signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU), the province would communicate it to the public.
