Since 3 December 2013, motorists have been tolled for using the seven urban freeways which make up the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP), which are mainly in Johannesburg and Tshwane.

The existing freeways were upgraded over a few years. Construction started in June 2008.

GFIP is managed by the South African National Roads Agency Ltd (SANRAL), a state-owned entity (SOE) which reports to the national Department of Transport.

During 2008, the Department of Transport and SANRAL reclassified the relevant sections of the seven roads as toll roads. The intention was to use the toll revenue to pay off the debt raised for upgrading roads.

However, when the public realised how much the tolling would cost, there was a huge outcry. There has been significant opposition to paying for e-tolls since the start.

The GFIP uses e-tolling (electronic tolling or open road tolling), which uses gantries which log the passage of vehicles and link to a system which generates billing. This system means vehicles do not have to stop at a toll booth to pay, so traffic flow is not interrupted.

SANRAL manages national roads, both tolled routes and non-toll routes. Funding for the tolled and non-tolled routes is kept separate, with government providing funding for the non-toll roads.

OUTA has challenged the e-tolls through the courts, starting in 2012. The current legal challenge was (as at the end of 2020) still ongoing.

OUTA regards the GFIP e-toll system as irrational, inefficient, costly and largely unworkable.

While OUTA is challenging the e-toll system, we note:

• We understand and support the need for road improvements.
• We support the role of Government to formulate equitable solutions to meet the needs of all citizens.
• OUTA is not against the use of modern e-tolling technology, which we know works well in many parts of the world.

OUTA has warned that:

• The scheme would never achieve the required compliance levels (which by international standards should exceed 80% of users paying). Compliance has ranged from 43% to 27%).
• The collection process was too costly (approximately 30% at full compliance) when international administration costs of similar schemes are generally no more than 10%.
• The scheme relies on data from the eNatis system which contains inaccuracies.
• The scheme relies on the existence of an efficient postal service, which is not available.
• ​The regulatory environment was not suitable for effective enforcement.

A fuel levy: a more viable alternative

The fuel levy is a current and highly effective government tax policy, used to take funds directly from road users into the national fiscus, from where Treasury apportions a certain amount to SANRAL for road building. Had the fuel levy been increased by 9c per litre in 2008 (when the road construction began) when the fuel levy was R1.21 per litre, Treasury would have raised R16bn and virtually paid off the capital costs of the GFIP by 2016.

OUTA was established in March 2012 (as the Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance) to oppose the imposition of e-tolls on the Gauteng urban freeways.

A month after OUTA was set up, it launched the first court case to oppose the tolling.

Over the years, OUTA has continued to use the courts to challenge the legality of tolling the Gauteng freeways. 

There have been different court cases around the e-tolls.

The 2012-2013 cases

2012: The Pretoria High Court case: This was an application to review and set aside the declaration of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project roads as toll roads. On 13 December 2012, the court dismissed this application.

2012: The Constitutional Court appeal:  This was an appeal by the National Treasury and SANRAL against OUTA and others, against the temporary restraining order granted by the Pretoria High Court preventing SANRAL from implementing and collecting tolls. The appeal was upheld, which ended the restraining order.

2013: The appeal: The Pretoria High Court judgment was appealed in 2013. On 9 October 2013, the Supreme Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal.

An outline of the 2012-2013 court cases is here.

The current legal challenge through the E-Toll Defence Umbrella

2015-2025: The legal challenge to SANRAL summonses to supporters

As at the end of 2024, this case was still ongoing and no court dates have been set.

In late 2015, OUTA set up the E-toll Defence Umbrella for OUTA supporters.

This was aimed at bringing together e-toll defaulters who were being summonsed for the unpaid bills by SANRAL. It aims to crowdfund a joint defence, run by OUTA's lawyers. (For more on this, see here.)

In May 2017, OUTA served SANRAL with responding pleas to a summons issued to an OUTA contributing supporter for outstanding e-toll payments. This is expected to become the test case for challenging the legality of the e-tolls. The matter is SANRAL’s action against Thandanani Truckers and Hauliers in the Pretoria High Court. SANRAL served Thandanani with a summons for R402 841 in unpaid e-toll fees, run up from January 2014 to August 2015. Other cases are being joined to this.

[See below for more on this: The legal challenges: The E-Toll Defence Umbrella and the current legal challenge.]

2012: The Pretoria High Court case against e-tolls

Case number 17141/2012

Applicants:

1. Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance (OUTA) 
2. South African Vehicle Renting and Leasing Association (SAVRALA) 
3. Quadpara Association of South Africa 
4. South African National Consumer Union

Respondents:

1. South African National Roads Agency Ltd (SANRAL) 
2. Minister of Transport 
3. Gauteng MEC for Roads and Transport 
4. Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs 
5. National Consumer Commission 
6. National Treasury

On 12 March 2012, OUTA (the Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance, which later was renamed the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse) was formed.

On 23 March 2012, OUTA and others filed an application opposing the imposition of e-tolls in the Pretoria High Court.

In the first part of the application, OUTA et al asked for an urgent interdict to stop the implementation of the e-toll scheme. The planned date for the start of e-tolls at the time was 30 April 2012.

​On 28 April 2012 an interim interdict was granted, but this interdict was later overturned by the Constitutional Court (the Concourt did not make any decision on the review itself).

In the second part of the application, OUTA et al asked for the decisions in 2008 which declared the Gauteng freeways as toll roads be reviewed and set aside. The applicants also asked for condonation of the late filing of the application. They initially also asked for the environmental authorisations to be set aside but later dropped this, so the third and fourth respondents did not participate in the hearing.

OUTA et al cited the lack of public participation in declaring the roads as toll roads and the unlawful nature of the scheme.  They argued that the situation differed from the tolling of national roads, because: the GFIP roads are urban roads in an around two major cities; hundreds of thousands of commuters use these roads daily; the users do not have sufficient viable alternatives to these roads; the long-haul truckers are even more captive to this network; and public transport is inadequate. They also argued that enforcing the tolling system would be virtually impossible, due to the expected high levels on non-compliance.

On 13 December 2012, the high court dismissed the OUTA application and awarded costs against OUTA, including the costs of the Concourt appeal on the interim interdict.

The court said that “the costs of tolling, the merits of using toll as a means to finance the GFIP scheme and the proposed e-toll tariffs which would be necessary to finance the scheme, are irrelevant considerations for purposes of this review. Those considerations fall within the preserve of executive government and therefore outside the jurisdiction of this court.”

It said matters such as the capital costs of the scheme, the operating costs and the likely tariff were not matters for public participation “as those matters fall squarely within the domain of the executive government as a matter of financial policy”, and that information on the proposed toll road declarations was published in the Government Gazette and newspapers circulating in Gauteng which was adequate.

Case 17141/2012: the legal papers

• OUTA’s founding affidavit of 23 March 2012 is here.
  
• SANRAL's notice to oppose the application on 28 March 2012 is here.
• SANRAL's answering affidavit by CEO Nazir Alli on 12 April 2012 is here.
• The answering affidavit from the Minister of Transport and Gauteng MEC for Roads and Transport on 12 April 2012 is here.
• The National Treasury’s application to intervene on 18 April 2012 is here.
• OUTA’s notice of intention of 21 April 2012 to amend notice of motion is here.
• OUTA’s replying affidavit of 21 April 2012 is here (part 1, part 2 and part 3).
• The judgment of 28 April 2012 granting interim relief (temporarily blocking SANRAL from collecting e-tolls pending the finalisation of the review application) is here.
• OUTA’s supplementary founding affidavit of 17 July 2012 is here (part 1, part 2 and part 3).
• OUTA’s heads of argument of 22 October 2012 are here.
• The high court judgment of 13 December 2012 is here.

​

2012: The appeal to the Concourt against the high court interim interdict

Concourt case number 38/12

This appeal was brought by the National Treasury, SANRAL and others, against the Pretoria High Court's interim interdict which prevented SANRAL from collecting e-tolls pending the outcome of the main application.

Case CCT 38/12: the legal papers:

• The notice of motion brought by Treasury et al on 21 May 2012 is here.
• The founding affidavits by Treasury and SANRAL of 21 May 2012 are here: part 1, part 2 and part 3.
• OUTA's answering affidavit is here and additional affidavit is here.
• The Treasury-SANRAL replying affidavit is here. 
• OUTA's supplementary affidavit is here.
• SANRAL's replying affidavit is here.
• SANRAL's chronology is here.
• SANRAL's written submission is here.
• Treasury's heads of argument are here.
• The Concourt's media summary of 15 August 2012, explaining the case before argument was heard, is here.
• OUTA's heads of argument are here, the note on the heads is here and the table of authorities is here.
• The Concourt's judgment on 20 September 2012 is here and the media summary of the judgment is here.

2013: The appeal to the SCA against the high court review judgment

Supreme Court of Appeal, case number 90/2013

(Appeal of Pretoria High Court case 17141/12)

​(Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance v The South African National Roads Agency Limited (90/2013) [2013] ZASCA 148 (judgment on 9 October 2013))

This was an appeal against the December 2012 judgment of the Pretoria High Court, which had dismissed OUTA’s case to overturn the e-tolls.

The appeal was refused, in a unanimous ruling by six judges.

The SCA found that the case was brought too late. However, the SCA ruling included allowing the public to introduce a collateral (defensive) challenge, if they are summonsed for non-payment of e-tolls. 

The court set aside the high court costs order against OUTA, and replaced it with an order that there be no costs order. Effectively, this meant that the parties all paid their own legal costs.

Points included in the appeal judgment:

• The SANRAL Act lists 12 financing options available to SANRAL. Three of these were relevant to this dispute: fuel levies, tolls, and funds appropriated by Parliament. The dispute focused not on whether the GFIP roads should be upgraded, but on how the upgrades should be funded.
• The GFIP funding proposals originated in the White Paper on transport of 1996, a September 2006 report by SANRAL, the Department of Transport and the Gauteng government, and a GFIP proposal submitted to Cabinet in July 2007 by the Department of Transport. The SCA judgment said the Cabinet identified the most suitable funding as a toll scheme with electronic fare collection to ensure the free flow of traffic, and Cabinet approved this.
• On 8 October 2007, the Minister of Transport officially launched the GFIP. SANRAL’s presentation referred to an estimated tariff of 30c-50c per km. SANRAL’s notice of intent to toll were subsequently gazetted, inviting comment from the public for a month. The roads were subsequently declared as toll roads.
• The costs incurred by SANRAL to finance the GFIP construction exceeded R20bn, and SANRAL procured this by issuing bonds, which are effectively repayable loans, with repayment guaranteed by government.
• The toll tariffs were announced in February 2011, with tolling due to start on 23 June 2011. A massive public outcry followed. The Minister suspended the implementation of tolling and set up a steering committee to review the tariffs, but made it clear that the implementation of tolling itself was not being reviewed. The committee recommended that the tariff be reduced from about 66c/km to about 30c/km, with a monthly cap of R550 for e-tag users, which Cabinet accepted.
• OUTA argued that a ring-fenced fuel levy would be the best means of funding the GFIP, as there would be no costs of collection, and that the costs of open road tolling were so unreasonable that a reasonable administrator would not use that option.
• The debate in the case was not about the need for the GFIP, but on how the upgrade was to be funded. The main thrust of the OUTA case was that SANRAL should have used a method other than tolling, such as a fuel levy.
• The Cabinet had known from viability studies from consultants that e-tolling would be sophisticated and expensive but ultimately approved it.
• The Constitutional Court held that this was a policy decision with which the courts would not interfere, and the SCA judgment reiterated this.
• The high court and SCA found that the delay of some five years between the declaration of the roads as toll roads and bringing the case was too long, and that the upgrades had been completed by then with borrowed money which would have to be repaid.
• Although the courts ruled the main challenge out of time, they left the way open for a collateral challenge to the e-tolls later. A collateral challenge is used when the legality of the law itself may be questioned but was not legally challenged, but subsequent actions taken in terms of that law – the collateral – may be challenged.

Case SCA 90/2013: the legal papers:

• OUTA’s application for leave to appeal of 8 January 2013 is here.
• OUTA’s heads of argument of 15 June 2013 are here.
• SANRAL’s heads of argument of 9 July 2012 are here.
• National Treasury’s heads of argument of 9 July 2013 are here.
• SANRAL’s e-tolls chronology is here.
• The judgment of 9 October 2013 is here.

Early 2025: Where we are now  
​OUTA’s test case against SANRAL on the constitutionality (therefore the lawfulness and enforceability) of the e-toll scheme has been on hold since March 2019, after Sanral's board decided to stop pursuing e-toll debt. 

How we got here

In October 2015, OUTA set up the E-toll Defence Umbrella.

The E-toll Defence Umbrella crowd-funds the litigation process in the challenge to SANRAL’s strategy of summonsing e-toll defaulters. This is for motorists who face a summons from SANRAL for unpaid e-toll bills and who would like to use OUTA’s lawyers to defend the claim.

While the Supreme Court of Appeal (in this court’s judgment in October 2013) allowed SANRAL to continue its e-toll scheme, the court also made it clear that a defensive challenge could be raised against SANRAL if it prosecutes motorists for failing to pay e-tolls.

OUTA assists motorists who are opposed to SANRAL’s claims in two ways. Firstly, it tests the merits of each case since every case differs. Secondly, and more importantly, is the “collateral challenge”, which is the legal challenge related to the constitutionality of the e-toll scheme itself.

OUTA would like this collateral challenge to be heard prior to the merits of each specific case being heard, because if that is won, tthe entire e-toll scheme falls. OUTA believes there is a strong case, but it is slow work getting it through the courts, because there are many individual cases and a tremendous amount of paperwork involved.

The issues may be separated, so that the issues of lawfulness of the scheme are argued before the merits of each case. This means using a test case, or a group of test cases to cover all the issues, but these cases have not yet been agreed on between OUTA and SANRAL, and a court date has not been set for the first case.

When OUTA's lawyers act for the OUTA supporters, they file a notice of intention to defend each summons, which prevents SANRAL from obtaining default judgments against the defaulters. 

Key arguments

Amongst other things, OUTA is arguing that:

• SANRAL’s declarations of the Gauteng freeways as toll roads are invalid as they don’t comply with public information and consultation requirements in the SANRAL Act and the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act;
• SANRAL’s toll declarations are against the constitution which requires “Supremacy of the constitution and the rule of law”;
• SANRAL’s notices of intention to toll were materially inadequate and flawed;
• There was insufficient notification and time for the public to comment during the public engagement exercise and furthermore, SANRAL didn’t properly consider the few comments that were made;
• The Minister of Transport’s approval of the tolling is unlawful and invalid as these decisions were irrational and he did not sufficiently consider the costs, any alternative means of funding the roads, alternative routes for motorists or the impossibility of enforcing open road tolling;
• The SANRAL board failed to approve the tolling before the declarations were issued and furthermore, failed to consider alternative funding, excluded the fuel levy as a means of funding, failed to consider whether it was practical to enforce open road tolling, failed to consider alternative routes, failed to consider the costs of the toll operations and failed to consider the substance of public representations;
• Both the minister and the SANRAL board wrongly abdicated their decision-making powers by considering themselves bound by cabinet’s decision in July 2007 to toll Gauteng freeways;
• The environmental authorisation is invalid as it was not correctly processed by the M    inister of Environmental Affairs;
• SANRAL didn’t follow the legal requirements for delivering the invoices for the e-toll fees owed;
• SANRAL charged VAT on the e-tolls incorrectly and was not entitled to do so;
• SANRAL did not provide reasonable alternative non-tolled routes, which violates constitutional rights to freedom of movement and equal treatment.

Progress in the case

May 2017: OUTA pulls out of attempts to work with SANRAL to jointly identify an e-toll claim test case, as it was taking too long to get to court. Instead, OUTA identifies the summons against supporter Thandanani Truckers and Hauliers as a key case and compiles papers based on this.

10 May 2017: OUTA’s E-Toll Defence Umbrella: OUTA lawyers serve SANRAL's lawyers with responding pleas to summonses issued for outstanding e-toll payments against OUTA's contributing supporters. This includes the Thandanani plea, one of the main defendants in the high court claims, who was issued with a summons for R402 841.62 in unpaid e-tolls run up from January 2014 to August 2015. Thandanani had an e-toll account with its address listed but SANRAL sent invoices to the wrong address, used ordinary mail instead of registered mail and failed to send any invoices at all during some weeks. This case effectively becomes the basis of OUTA's "test case" against the e-tolls, which will argue that the scheme was introduced unlawfully. The matter is in the Pretoria High Court. [OUTA, "Gloves are off as OUTA files e-toll court papers", 11 May 2017] The Thandanani plea papers are here.

October 2017: OUTA identifies four defendants in the high court actions and agrees with SANRAL to halt proceedings (up to close of pleadings between parties) of all other matters, pending the outcome of the test case.

2018: OUTA joins individual defendants to the now consolidated test case of representative spread of defendants, challenging the constitutionality of the e-toll scheme in a singular matter, without clogging up the court with thousands of e-toll cases. The test case now includes individuals who were sued by SANRAL in the magistrate’s court. Due to nature of the matter, the test case is allocated for case management under Judge Ronel Tolmay.

February 2018: OUTA’s E-Toll Defence Umbrella: OUTA lawyers are defending 576 cases on behalf of e-toll defaulters who received summonses from SANRAL. These had a total value of R71.3 million and were 515 cases in magistrates’ courts and 61 in the high court. [OUTA annual report 2017/18]

25 September 2018: Minister of Transport told Parliament that SANRAL has issued 15 505 summonses for e-toll debt, that only 3 724 (24%0 of these were served on the defendants and that 1 320 of those served are being defended. [Reply RNW2673, published 25 September 2018]

February 2019: OUTA’s E-Toll Defence Umbrella: OUTA lawyers are defending 1 234 cases on behalf of e-toll defaulters who received summonses from SANRAL. These were 1 205 cases in magistrates’ courts with a total value of R75.105 million and 29 cases in the high court valued at R86.126m. The highest value single claim is R20.239m and the lowest value is R1 360. [OUTA annual report 2018/19]

February 2019: OUTA estimates its lawyers have by now filed about 135 000 pages of legal documents over several years and in many courts in the e-toll cases against SANRAL. [OUTA annual report 2018/19]

March 2019: The test case litigation is at an advance stage and the SANRAL attorneys and OUTA’s attorneys file the discovery documents.

18 March 2019: The Credit Bureau Association announces that e-toll debt may not be used to blacklist defaulters’ credit records. “ The Transport Laws and Related Matters Amendment Act, 2013, which amended the South African National Roads Agency Limited and National Roads Act, 1998, specifically excludes the levying and collecting of e-tolls from the provisions of the National Credit Act, 2005 (NCA). Credit bureaus receive, hold, display and remove consumer information in accordance with the provisions of the NCA and accordingly are not able to hold information which is specifically excluded from the provisions of the NCA,” said the CBA.  [CBA statement, 18 March 2019]

27 March 2019: SANRAL announces its board has decided to suspend the process of pursuing e-toll debt. [News24, “Sanral suspends process of pursuing e-toll debt ”, 27 March 2019; and SANRAL statement, SANRAL’s board passes resolution on e-toll summonses, 27 March 2019]

March – April 2019: OUTA’s attorneys engage with SANRAL’s attorneys on the continuance of test case. SANRAL’s attorneys confirm they have received no instruction from SANRAL to continue.

February 2020: OUTA’s E-Toll Defence Umbrella: OUTA lawyers are defending 2 028 cases on behalf of e-toll defaulters who received summonses from SANRAL, with a total value of R139.192m. These were 1 929 cases in magistrates’ courts with a total value of R52.335 million and 99 cases in the high court valued at R86.858m. [OUTA annual report 2019/20]

June – July 2020: OUTA receives various queries from supporters who received letters of demand dated June 2020 from SANRAL on outstanding e-toll debt.

February 2021:  OUTA’s E-Toll Defence Umbrella: OUTA lawyers are defending 2 028 cases on behalf of e-toll defaulters who received summonses from SANRAL, with a total value of R262.590m. These were 1 929 cases in magistrates’ courts with a total value of R112.276m and 99 cases in the high court valued at R150.315m. [OUTA annual report 2020/21]

2021: OUTA’s test case against SANRAL on the constitutionality (therefore the lawfulness and enforceability) of the e-toll scheme is on hold while government decides on the future of e-tolls.

February 2022: OUTA’s E-Toll Defence Umbrella: OUTA lawyers are defending 2 028 cases on behalf of e-toll defaulters who received summonses from SANRAL, with a total value of R265.060m. These were 1 929 cases in magistrates’ courts with a total value of R112.276m and 99 cases in the high court valued at R152.784m [OUTA annual report 2021/22]. The number of cases has since remained the same, as SANRAL has stopped issuing summonses and the current cases are stalled pending legal clarity on the shut down of e-tolls [OUTA annual report 2022/23].

11 April 2024: The e-tolls are officially switched off. Clarity on the court cases is awaited.

OUTA goes to court to end the e-toll debt collection

Six years after SANRAL formally ended efforts to collect e-toll debts, OUTA asks the court to declare that SANRAL has abandoned its debt claims

• OUTA has filed legal action asking the Pretoria High Court to declare that SANRAL has abandoned 2 028 e-toll debt claims due to six years of inaction.
• OUTA has been defending these claims for years in terms of its E-Toll Defence Umbrella.
• SANRAL has filed notice of intention to oppose the case. No court date is yet set.

OUTA has filed legal action against the South African National Roads Agency Ltd (SANRAL) and three ministers, asking the high court to declare that SANRAL has abandoned the collection of the outstanding e-toll debts. The action was filed in the Pretoria High Court on 20 August 2025 as case number 2025-142155.

The applicants are OUTA and 2 028 e-toll defendants, individuals and businesses, whom OUTA has been defending for years in terms of its E-Toll Defence Umbrella.

The respondents are SANRAL, the ministers of Transport and Finance, the minister and director-general of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (FFE, formerly known as Environmental Affairs when the OUTA defence of these matters started), and the Commissioner of the South African Revenue Service (SARS).

SANRAL has indicated that it intends to oppose OUTA’s application. No other responses have been received so far.

The notice of motion calls on the high court to declare that SANRAL has abandoned its debt claims against the 2 028 e-toll defendants, subsequently removing these matters from court. If OUTA wins, SANRAL’s claims against the 2 028 e-toll defendants will fall away. OUTA is also requesting the court to make an order to force SANRAL to pay OUTA’s legal costs in the cases.

SANRAL had instituted legal action against 2 028 individuals and businesses over unpaid e-toll debt, they approached OUTA for assistance, and OUTA took on the defence of these cases.

OUTA argues that SANRAL effectively abandoned the cases after the entity’s board resolved in March 2019 to suspend the 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.

OUTA’s founding affidavit is made by Advocate Stefanie Fick, OUTA’s Executive Director of the Accountability Division.

OUTA is represented by Andri Jennings of Jennings Inc, Advocate Adrian D’Oliveira and Advocate Nicole Lewis.

 

The e-tolls: 2013 to 2024

The Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP), the upgrade of about 185km of Gauteng freeways and improvements to 34 major interchanges, cost R20 billion which SANRAL funded entirely through borrowings. The e-toll system – a significant part of the R20bn cost – was set up to repay this debt.

On 3 December 2013, the e-toll gantries were switched on and e-tolling started.

OUTA campaigned against the tolling of these urban commuter roads since 2012, including through the courts. After the switch-on, thousands of motorists refused to pay.

On 26 October 2022, Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana announced that the debt incurred on the GFIP would be funded by National Treasury (70%) and the Gauteng provincial government (30%) and, on 3 November 2022, the National Treasury confirmed this. On 5 March 2024, Gauteng MEC for Finance Jacob Mamabolo also confirmed this.

On 28 March 2024, the notice withdrawing the declarations of the GFIP roads as tolled roads was gazetted, taking effect at 23:59:59 on 11 April 2024, and legally ending the e-tolls.

“The toll declarations were clearly withdrawn as a consequence of the decision by government that SANRAL’s e-toll debt would be funded directly from the national and provincial fiscus,” said Fick in her affidavit.

 

The cases OUTA is defending

In October 2015, OUTA launched its E-Toll Defence Umbrella to defend those who received summonses from SANRAL for failing to pay alleged e-toll debts.

The 2 028 defendants who join OUTA in the current application were served with summonses for e-toll debts by SANRAL between 11 April 2016 and 10 April 2019, and approached OUTA for assistance. OUTA then instructed and paid attorneys and counsel, who prepared and filed notices of intention to defend and then pleadings on behalf of many of these defendants.

The debt claimed in these cases totalled R265.060 million at the time of issuing summons. The biggest claim against a business is R13.510m and against an individual is R814 978, while the smallest claim is R1 249.20 against an individual.

In every one of these cases, OUTA filed notices of intention to defend and pleadings, and often further paperwork was filed by SANRAL and OUTA. Only a few of the high court cases progressed to a complete set of pleadings being filed, while in the magistrates’ courts, no cases progressed beyond the pleadings stage. “Due to the sheer number of matters, and later as a result of the test case, in many matters, the exchange of pleadings ceased after a notice of intention to defend was filed,” says Fick.

The proceedings were stayed in late 2018 by agreement pending the determination of a test case.

OUTA’s current action aims to resolve these matters.

The test case

The test case – case number 22722/16 in the Pretoria High Court – had a representative spread of defendants and was intended to decide key issues in the cases, including the constitutional challenge.

OUTA launched the test case in May 2017. (See OUTA’s statement on this at the time here.)

This test case was also referred to as the collateral challenge, and was the legal challenge related to the constitutionality of the e-toll scheme itself.

During 2017 and 2018, there were various discussions between OUTA and SANRAL, and case management meetings presided over by a judge, on the way forward.

In December 2018, it was agreed that the test case would consolidate four high court cases and, in addition, join additional state respondents with SANRAL. In January 2019, six magistrate’s court cases were added.

In March 2019, before the test case was ready for hearing, SANRAL’s board resolved, with immediate effect, to suspend the collection of the e-toll debt. “It [the board] resolved that given the initiative led by President Cyril Ramaphosa to address the e-tolls payment impasse, SANRAL will, with immediate effect, suspend the process of pursuing e-toll debt. This includes historic debt and summonses applied for from 2015. No new summonses will be applied for,” said SANRAL’s statement at the time.

Since then, SANRAL has taken no further steps to pursue the test case.

OUTA and its attorneys approached SANRAL and its attorneys to obtain certainty about the abandoned status of the debt actions and to recover legal costs, but without success.

OUTA has attempted to obtain clarity on this litigation with SANRAL by letters through lawyers, letters and emails directly from OUTA’s CEO Wayne Duvenage to SANRAL’s CEO Reginald Demana, and through WhatsApp messages between the CEOs, but has been unable to get it resolved.

“The test case and the actions have been abandoned,” said Fick in her affidavit.

“The applicants have sought to engage with SANRAL on numerous occasions to obtain finality by confirming the abandonment of the test case and the actions, and to recover legal costs, but SANRAL has avoided such engagement because of obvious financial consequences.

“SANRAL’s failure to withdraw the actions and tender the costs is unfair and prejudicial to OUTA and the Defendants who are entitled to have certainty and obtain finality in the actions and are entitled to payment of the legal costs incurred in defending the actions.”

 

The previous e-toll cases did not rule out this challenge

In March 2012, OUTA filed its first legal challenge to the e-tolls.

This was a case in the Pretoria High Court, filed together with three other organisations, which asked, firstly, for an interdict to block e-tolls from going ahead and, secondly, for the decisions to declare the GFIP roads as toll roads to be reviewed and set aside.

In April 2012, OUTA won an interim interdict, but in September 2012 this was overturned by the Constitutional Court.

In December 2012, OUTA lost the main review application in the Pretoria High Court, and in October 2013 the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) dismissed OUTA’s appeal, mainly on the grounds that the action was brought too late.

“The SCA decided the appeal on the basis of delay and without reaching the merits. It held that the delay rule contained in section 7(1) of the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act 3 of 2000 prevented the court from entertaining a review application. The SCA made it clear, however, that its decision did not prevent members of the public who were sued for e-toll debt in due course from defending the claims against them by collaterally challenging the lawfulness of e-tolling,” says Fick in the founding affidavit in the current application.

It is this collateral challenge that has formed a crucial part of OUTA’s defence of the e-toll debt cases.

 

The legal papers

[Note that in this bundle we have redacted certain details to protect the privacy of e-toll defendants and others.]

The notice of motion is here.

The founding affidavit by Advocate Stefanie Fick, OUTA Executive Director, is here.

The confirmatory affidavit by Andri Jennings is here.

The confirmatory affidavit by Andrea van Heerden is here.

The confirmatory affidavit by Wayne Duvenage is here.

The annexures to Advocate Stefanie Fick’s founding affidavit:

• FA1: Re paragraph 8 of the founding affidavit: Example of mandate and power of attorney from the 2 028.
• FA2.1 and FA2.2: Re paragraph 9: The 2 028 e-toll defendants and their case numbers.
• FA3: Re paragraph 69: An example of a summons issued by SANRAL through the high court against a business for alleged e-toll debt.
• FA4: Re paragraph 70: An example of a declaration filed by SANRAL in the high court, in response to a notice of intention to defend an e-toll debt claim.
• FA5: Re paragraph 71: An example of a plea filed on behalf of one of the high court defendants, containing special pleas raising prescription and collateral (defensive) challenges.
• FA6: Re paragraph 72: An example of a replication by SANRAL.
• FA7: Re paragraph 72: An example of a rejoinder by an e-toll debt defendant.
• FA8: Re paragraph 75: An example of a summons issued by SANRAL through a magistrate’s court.
• FA9: Re paragraph 76: An example of a declaration filed by SANRAL in a magistrate’s court
• FA10 part 1 and FA10 part 2 and FA10 part3: Re paragraph 77: An example of a plea filed on behalf of an e-toll defendant in a magistrate’s court.
• FA11: Re paragraph 78: An example of a SANRAL replication in a magistrate’s court.
• FA12: Re paragraph 83: Minutes of the first case management meeting on the test case, on 16 August 2018, before Judge Tolmay.
• FA13: Re paragraph 85: Letter of 5 September 2018 discussing the test case.
• FA14: Re paragraph 85: Letter of 12 November 2016 discussing the test case.
• FA15: Re paragraph 85: Letter of 14 November 2018 discussing the test case.
• FA16: Re paragraph 86: Minutes of the second case management meeting on the test case, on 5 December 2018, before Judge Tolmay.
• FA17: Re paragraph 88: The order consolidating the four high court matters and joining additional state respondents under Pretoria High Court case number 22722/16.
• FA18: Re paragraph 90: The order consolidating six magistrates’ courts matters in the test case.
• FA19: Re paragraph 92 & 93: SANRAL’s statement on its board’s resolution to suspend the collection of e-toll debt.
• FA20: Re paragraph 96: Letter of 3 April 2019 from OUTA lawyers to SANRAL lawyers, seeking clarity on suspension of debt collection.
• FA21: Re paragraph 97: Letter of 21 May 2019 from OUTA lawyers to SANRAL lawyers, following up.
• FA22: Re paragraph 99: Letter of 18 June 2019 from OUTA lawyers to SANRAL lawyers, following up.
• FA23: Re paragraph 104: National Treasury statement of 3 November 2022.
• FA24: Re paragraph 106 & 107: OUTA email of 12 January 2023 to Premier Panyaza Lesufi.
• FA25: Re paragraph 108: Resends of email in FA24.
• FA26: Re paragraph 109: Email of 20 April 2023 from Premier Lesufi to OUTA.
• FA27: Re paragraph 110: Email of 20 April 2023 from OUTA CEO Wayne Duvenage to Premier Lesufi.
• FA28: Re paragraph 113: Letter from OUTA lawyers to SANRAL lawyers.
• FA29: Re paragraph 116: Emails from SANRAL’s lawyers confirming no response from SANRAL.
• FA30: Re paragraph 118: Letter from OUTA CEO Duvenage to SANRAL CEO Reginal Demana.
• FA31: Re paragraph 120 & 121: Speech on 5 March 2024 by Gauteng Finance MEC Jacob Mambolo.
• FA32: Re paragraph 125: Government Gazette 50418 of 28 March 2024, which ended the e-tolls.
• FA33: Re paragraph 128 & 129: Letter of 10 April 2024 from OUTA lawyers to SANRAL’s lawyers, again attempting to resolve the litigation.
• FA34: Re paragraph 130: Letter of 11 April 2024 from OUTA to SANRAL CEO Demana.
• FA35: Re paragraph 132-134: Copy of WhatsApp messages between OUTA CEO Duvenage and SANRAL CEO Demana.
• FA36: Re paragraph 135: Email of 23 April 2024 from OUTA lawyers to SANRAL’s lawyers.
• FA37: Re paragraph 136: Response from SANRAL lawyers, indicating lack of response from SANRAL.
• FA38: Re paragraph 137 & 138: Copy of WhatsApp messages on 8 May 2024 from OUTA CEO Duvenage to SANRAL CEO Demana.

A timeline of e-toll indecision 

26 March 2019: SANRAL decided  at a board meeting that it would no longer pursue motorists for outstanding e-toll debt.

​

6 July 2019: "President Cyril Ramaphosa has mandated Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula working with Finance Minister Tito Mboweni and Gauteng Premier David Makhura to submit to Cabinet a solution to the impasse around electronic tolling on Gauteng freeways," said a st​atement from The Presidency. The President called for proposals by the end of August 2019.

​

10 July 2019: Cabinet held a meeting  and announced that President Cyril Ramaphosa had mandated Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni and Gauteng Premier David Makhura “to find a solution of the e-tolling on Gauteng freeways”, that consultations would be held within government and “workable outcomes” would be presented to Cabinet by the end of August 2019.

​

24 July, 7 August 2019: Cabinet meetings held but no decision announced on e-tolls.

8 August 2019: SANRAL advertised a tender for a  new six-year contract  to collect e-tolls. This was in reaction to the fact that the existing contract, with Electronic Toll Collections (ETC), was about to expire on 2 December 2019.

21 August 2019: Cabinet meeting held but no decision on e-tolls announced.

28 August 2019: OUTA met Minister Mbalula to share its view and extensive research on the e-toll impasse and discuss solutions. OUTA also presented its input in a 60-page e-toll position paper, Getting Beyond the E-toll Impasse. Minister Mbalula said further meetings would be held with other stakeholders, indicating the August deadline for the solutions to the impasse – as tasked by the President – would not be met. 

4 September, 18 September and 16 October 2019: Further cabinet meetings held but still no decision on the e-toll matter was announced.

30 October 2019: Cabinet held a meeting but no e-toll decision was made. However,  Minister Mbalula said  that Cabinet was considering various options and a decision would be made in two weeks. Gauteng Premier David Makhura said he was confident a solution was imminent.

30 October 2019: Minister Mboweni said this in his Mid-Term Budget Policy Statement  speech: “Cabinet has considered several options to resolve the impasse over the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project. The reconfigured approach to Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project and its financing will be determined by the Ministers of Finance and Transport after consultation with the Premier of Gauteng and his Executive council. We need to build a culture of payment, as government services can only be sustainable if all of us that can pay for services, do so.” 

12 November 2019: OUTA sent a message to the Cabinet reiterating the need to scrap the e-tolls. See here.

20 November 2019:​ Cabinet held a meeting but  still no decision on the e-toll matter was announced.

5 December 2019: SANRAL extended its expired e-toll collection contract with ETC for three months (see here), pending either a decision to scrap the e-toll scheme or the finalisation of a new e-toll tender for the new five-year contract (see here).

13 December 2019: Cabinet held a meeting, said it had noted its ministers' report on e-tolls and a “final decision” on the recommendations would be made “in the New Year”. 

17 December 2019: Minister in the Presidency Jackson Mthembu said the decision would be made at the next Cabinet meeting in the New Year. “It will definitely be finalised at the next Cabinet meeting. I can put my head on the block,” said Mthembu. 

31 January 2020: Cabinet ended a three-day lekgotla. At the end of it, there was still no e-toll decision.

12 February 2020: Cabinet held a meeting but no e-toll decision was announced.

13 February 2020: President Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address ​ didn’t mention e-tolls.

25 February 2020: Premier Makhura said in his State of the Province Address: “As the Executive Council, we made a strong and persuasive case to national government on the e-tolls. I have been assured by President Cyril Ramaphosa that a lasting solution has been found and an announcement by the President is imminent.” 

26 February 2020: Minister Mboweni’s Budget referred to the declining revenue from e-tolls as one of the risks to the fiscal outlook. The Budget Review  said clarity was needed on the e-tolls. “Declining e-toll revenue will have to be offset by other measures to repay South African National Roads Agency Limited debt. It could also affect funding for other investment projects.”

11 March 2020: Cabinet held a meeting but no e-toll decision was announced.

31 March 2020: SANRAL CEO Skhumbuzo Macozoma, in SANRAL's Integrated Report for 2019/20: "An issue which continues to place financial pressure on SANRAL is the continued refusal by some road users to pay the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project's (GFIP) e-toll fees. The matter is now before Cabinet and we await direction in this regard." The same report also notes: "SANRAL continued with its efforts to improve collections of outstanding toll payments from the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP). The task team, established by the President, concluded its work and has submitted its recommendations to the Presidency. SANRAL awaits the final outcome of this process to be announced."

15 April, 20 April, 12-13 May, 4 June, 24 June, 10-12 July, 5 August, 26 August, 9 September, 23 September, 21 October, 4 November 2020: Cabinet held meetings but no e-toll decision was announced.

1 October 2020: Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula says government wants to resolve the e-tolls issue so SANRAL can go ahead with borrowing. [News24 report]

10 November 2020: Auditor-General tells Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Transport: "E-tolls - The decision on future funding model for Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP) is still not yet finalised. The delays in the finalisation of the GFIP matter has negatively affected the financial sustainability of SANRAL." [AGSA, "Briefing to Portfolio Committee on Transport", 11 November 2020]

16 November 2020: Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula signs a performance agreement with President Cyril Ramaphosa which includes this: Develop strategy for the implementation of the user-pay principle, with a target of "100% compliance with user pay principle by 2024".  

18 November, 2 December, 9 December 2020: Cabinet held meetings but no e-toll decision was announced.

14 December 2020:  Minister Mbalula says an announcement  on the future of e-tolls is expected early in 2021.

19 January and 10 February: Cabinet held meetings but no e-toll decision was announced.

18 February 2021: Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula says in Parliament that government is expected to announce a decision on e-tolls next month. [Report]

24 February 2021: Another Cabinet meeting, no decision. 

25 February 2021:  Gauteng Premier David Makhura says in his State of the Province Address: "As the Executive Council, we made a strong and persuasive case to national government on the e-tolls. I have been assured by President Cyril Ramaphosa that a lasting solution has been found and an announcement by the President is imminent."

9 March 2021: Gauteng Roads and Transport MEC Jacob Mamabolo says the province opposes the e-toll system. "“As a provincial government, we will spare no effort to completely oppose any attempt that seeks to bring back e-tolls,” he said. “We have written to (Transport minister) Fikile Mbalula in this regard, and we are expecting feedback from them. But from where we stand as the provincial government, no regulation should have a relationship with the e-tolling system that we clearly said was unnecessary in the first place.” [Business Tech report]

10 March 2021: Cabinet held a meeting but no e-toll decision was announced.

16 March 2021: Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula promises a decision on e-tolls is imminent. [​Interview with eNCA]

24 March 2021: Cabinet held a meeting but no e-toll decision was announced.

30 March 2021: Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula says he submitted a proposed solution on the e-toll impasse to Cabinet in November 2019. The initial submission had seven options; this was later reduced to one option. The Department of Transport is "still awaiting for that decision". "The timeline was set for March 2021, however due to severe Covid 19 lockdown this timeline is unlikely to be achieved. We have no doubt that Cabinet will fast track discussions to conclude on this matter." [Reply to National Council of Provinces  RCW139]

6 May 2021: Minister Mbalula tells the NCOP that an announcement with a solution within two weeks, after the approval of his plan by Cabinet. "“We are engaging with the Treasury and we are at the tail-end of our processes ... We expect that in the next two weeks we should be back to cabinet. Before we table our budget vote speech, we should have gone to you and to the public to announce the cabinet decision on the e-tolls. It has taken longer than we would have liked. We thought by now we would have finalised but unfortunately it's a big decision. We are not working alone. We go back and forth with Treasury on these issues, and that's how it is,” said Mbalula. [​Sowetan, 6 May 2020] However, the deadline came and went on 20 May 2021 with no decision announced.

12 May 2021: Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Transport report, in reference to SANRAL, said: "There was still no final decision regarding the GFIP/e-toll funding model. Members were of the view that the e-toll funding model issue must be finalised as it was not acceptable to have it drag on any longer." The report recommendations included this on the Department of Transport: "The Department must deliver the final decision regarding the GFIP/e-toll policy matter, as soon as Cabinet releases its decision on this matter." [Report of the PC on Transport, ATC 59, 12 May 2021]

28 September 2021: Minister Mbalula says a date for a decision on e-tolls "cannot be determined at this stage" and that discussions on funding options continue. "The delay on the announcement is that the process to pronounce on the future of the e-toll take time as the two Ministers (Transport and Finance) had to first meet and in their meeting they agreed that further studies be conducted to inform the decision to be made. It is important to note that the Department is committed to finding a workable solution that does not ‘drown the country in debt’ but is equally sensitive to the public’s issues and once it is clear on the sustainable model, a submission will then be made for Cabinet final decision," said Mbalula in the reply.  [Reply to National Assembly RNW2196, 28 September 2021]

26 November 2021: Minister Mbalula says the decision on e-tolls will be announced in the Budget in February 2022. “The matter of e-tolls is receiving priority attention by Cabinet and will be finalized soon. The final determination is about how best to carry the cost burden of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project, while maintaining these roads in a pristine condition.   We agreed with the Minister of Finance that the announcement of the final decision will be made during the Budget Speech in February 2022,” said Minister Mbalula. [Department of Transport statement, 30 November 2021] 

23 February 2022: The national Budget does not include anything on the GFIP funding or e-tolls.

11 October 2022: Minister Mbalula again promises that an announcement on e-tolls will be made soon. [Noted here]

26 October 2022: Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announces in his Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS 2022) that alternative funding arrangements are being made for the GFIP, effectively ending the e-tolls. See here.

3 November 2022: The National Treasury said Sanral's total debt as at 31 March 2022 was R45.936 billion, and the value of debt attributed to GFIP Phase I was R43.031bn. Treasury said the Gauteng provincial government would cover 30% of the debt and interest obligations of GFIP Phase I and the maintenance costs of GFIP Phase I. See here.

February 2014: E-Tolling at an Impasse

An evaluation of the Gauteng e-tolling system.

September 2014: Beyond the Impasse

OUTA submitted this report to the Gauteng Advisory Panel on the socio-economic impact of e-tolls.

This is an update of the February 2014 report.

April 2015: OUTA chairman's report to OUTA AGM

A summary of the e-toll situation.

January 2016: The Gauteng E-Toll Issue

OUTA presentation to the Portfolio Committee on Transport. 

February 2016: Society's odious GFIP debt, courtesy of SANRAL

A position paper unpacking the legacy of Gauteng's freeway upgrade construction costs.

A summary is here.

February 2017: Report: The Road to Excess 

Report annexures: Annex 1, Annex 2a, Annex 2b, Annex 3, Annex 4, Annex 5, Annex 6, Annex 7, Annex 8, Annex 9, Annex 10, Annex 11, Annex 12.

February 2017: Presentation: The Road to Excess

Report and presentation on SANRAL's high cost of road construction and the overpayment of almost R10bn on the GFIP.

This package is a revision and update of the February 2016 position paper "Society's odious GFIP debt, courtesy of SANRAL".

July 2018: Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project's e-tolls: A story of failure

This report was submitted to the Ministers in the Economic Cluster, who were looking at how to reduce the consumer burden of high fuel prices.

July 2018: Proposals for cost saving measures for SA Government

This report was submitted to the Ministers in the Economic Cluster, for the review on high fuel prices, and includes information on the e-tolls.

August 2019: Getting beyond the e-toll impasse

This report was presented to the Minister of Transport.

This is an update of the 2014 report.

August 2019: Presentation to Minister of Transport 

This was a presentation to the Minister as a member of the Cabinet sub-committee tasked with making a decision on funding for the GFIP roads.

November 2022: Submission to Parliament on GFIP/Sanral debt

This was a submission to the Standing and Select Committees on Appropriations, in response to the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement of October 2022, calling for an explanation of the Sanral debt and the GFIP portion of this. A summary of this is here, the submission is here and the presentation to the committees is here.

February 2023: OUTA: 10 years of activism opposing e-tolls

A short wrap of OUTA's longest campaign, crowd-funded by thousands of supporters.

This is how Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project costs grew.

February 2008 estimate: R14.3bn

[National Treasury, Chapter 7 of the Budget Review 2008, 20 February 2008]

 

February 2010: R22.0bn

[National Treasury, Chapter 4, Budget Review 2010, 17 February 2010]

March 2011:

• Road construction: R16.9bn (including contract price adjustment, excluding VAT)
• Toll infrastructure: R0.725bn
• Toll system: R1.16bn
• Intelligent Transport Systems: R0.350bn
• Current maintenance: R0.090bn
• Total estimated cost: R19.23bn (excl VAT)
• Toll revenue at 66c/km was estimated at R0.300bn a month.

[Written reply to Parliament by Minister of Transport, question RNW328, 28 March 2011]

August 2011: R22.7bn excl VAT or R25.9bn incl VAT

[Written reply to Parliament by Minister of Transport, question 2001, 22 August 2011]

May 2012: R89.722bn expenditure over 24 years:

• Initial capital cost (price of the road upgrade): R20.630bn (this is 23% of the total expenditure)
• Road maintenance: R10.670bn (12%)
• Violation Processing Centre operating expenditure: R6.194bn (7%)
• Toll-related operating expenditure (excl VPC): R12.170bn (13%)
• Other operational expenses: R1.727bn (2%)
• Interest payments: R38.331bn (43%)
• Total over 24 years: R89.722bn

[Affidavit by SANRAL CEO Nazir Alli, annexure NA1, filed in the Constitutional Court case against OUTA, 21 May 2012: part 1, part 2, part 3 (see the annexure NA1 in part 3 here)]

Paying it off: Collecting R89.722bn over 24 years = R10.242m every day or about R307m a month.

October 2022: The end of e-tolls and confusion over what's left of the debt to be repaid

In October 2022, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced the end of e-tolls in the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS 2022). The minister said that national government would pay 70% of the Sanral debt and Gauteng would pay 30% plus the ongoing costs of GFIP maintenance, effectively ending the need for e-tolls as a funding mechanism.

The MTBPS included these money bills: The Adjustments Appropriation Bill, which included a transfer of R3.740 billion for Sanral for the GFIP, which was transferred to Sanral in July 2022 and was now being regularised, and a proposed transfer of R23.736 billion through the Special Appropriation Bill.

In November 2022, OUTA made a formal submission to Parliament, calling for an explanation of the Sanral debt and the GFIP portion of it. This was a submission to the Standing and Select Committees on Appropriations, in response to MTBPS 2022. A summary of this is here, the submission is here and the presentation to the committees is here.

(See also the replies to Parliament)

September 2015
Below is a graphic showing the scope of the public rejection of e-tolls.
This shows e-toll collections (the actual collections, not the amounts billed) from the start in December 2013 to September 2015.

November 2015
The graphic below shows how OUTA showed SANRAL's collection strategy in November 2015, based on figures from SANRAL's annual report for 2014/15.
The graphic shows how the GFIP roads constitute only about 1% of SANRAL's road network, yet SANRAL attempted to extract from motorists R9.9bn over 2014/15. When it became clear that SANRAL could not collect on the R9.9bn billed to motorists, the new dispensation was brought in and SANRAL reduced the expected e-toll revenue for that year to R3.8bn. However, only R1.1bn was collected that year.

May 2016
In May 2016, SANRAL had to acknowledge the failure of the 60% discount offer on unpaid debt which ran from July 2015 to May 2016. SANRAL admitted that more than 2.7 million Gauteng road users had not made a single e-toll payment.

March 2018
This table shows SANRAL's forecast for e-toll receipts against the actual collections, from December 2013 when e-tolls started to March 2018.
See graphic here.

December 2018
A reply to Parliament by the then Minister of Transport in December 2018 revealed:

• There were an average of 77.986 million e-toll transactions a month (measured over 57 months from December 2013 to August 2018).
• The percentage of transactions which were paid (ie compliance) ranged from 27% to 43% over the months, with the last three months showing compliance down to 27% in each of those months. 
• Total actual revenue collected over 57 months was R4 140 157 235 (R4.140bn), an average of R72.634m a month.
• The forecast revenue varied wildly across those 57 months, from a high of R145m in February 2016 down to a regular R65m a month for the last year, and an average of R78.2m a month.
• "The toll operator is compensated in terms of their tendered rates for services provided under the contract and does not receive a share of the toll revenue."

[See reply to Parliament on 5 December 2018, RNW3489.]

July 2019
In a memo to the Standing Committee on Appropriations, the National Treasury explained the need to shift funds from non-toll road funding to toll road funding.
"The Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP) cash collection are significantly lower than projected at R65 million per month. SANRAL requires approximately R240 million per month to service its GFIP debt." This has affected SANRAL's access to the bond market.
The Treasury said that R1.9 billion was shifted from SANRAL's non-toll allocation to the GFIP in 2017/18 and that R5.75 billion would be transferred to the toll budget. [Note that this R1.9bn is also reflected in SANRAL's Integrated Report for 2019/20 but is not reflected in the Budgets.]
Treasury said that SANRAL's total outstanding debt was R47 billion and that the GFIP debt was R39 billion of this or 83 percent of it.
The Treasury memo is here.

April 2020
In SANRAL's Integrated Report for 2019/20, there is reference to an amount of R1.9bn apparently moved in March 2018 from non-toll funding to the GFIP, to fund the shortfall in e-toll revenue. This is not reflected in the Department of Transport budgets for 2017/18 or subsequent years. This report also refers to the three other lump-sum bailouts plus the annual subsidy paid every year from July 2015.
From the Integrated Report:

The 2009 contract

There are three main contracts for running the e-tolls: the Open Road Tolling (ORT), the Transaction Clearing House (TCH) and the Violation Processing Centre (VPC).

SANRAL contracted Electronic Toll Collection (ETC), a joint venture between Kapsch TrafficCom AG (based in Austria) and TMT Services and Supplies (Pty) Ltd.

The original contracts with ETC were signed in 2009 but all started running from 3 December 2013, when the e-tolls were switched on. The ORT contract was for eight years, and the TCH and VPC contracts each five years. It is understood that the TCH and VPC contracts had options to renew for a further two years.

That would have ended the TCH and VPC contracts – needed to collect e-tolls and pursue defaulters – by 2 December 2020 at the latest.

These were the Ministers of Transport during the GFIP period

• Jeff Radebe: 29 April 2004 - 9 May 2009
• S’bu Ndebele: 10 May 2009 - 11 June 2012
• Ben Martins: 12 June 2012 – 8 July 2014
• Dipuo Peters: 9 July 2014 – 29 March 2017
• Joe Maswanganyi: 30 March 2017 – 25 February 2018
• Blade Nzimande: 26 February 2018 – May 2019
• Fikile Mbalula: from 29 May 2019 - 6 March 2023 (the end of e-tolls was announced in October 2022 but the legal process remained incomplete)
• Sindisiwe Chikunga: from 6 March 2023 - 19 June 2024 (Chikunga signed the notice which switched off the e-tolls)

The Gauteng e-tolls: 42 tolling points on seven roads over 185km

This is the history of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP)

 (See also other sections on this page)

1987

1987: Abolition of ring-fenced fuel levy. [SANRAL chronology, SCA case 2012]

1996

1996: Government White Paper includes tolling as a method of financing roads. [SANRAL chronology, SCA case 2012]

1998

1 April 1998: South African National Roads Agency Ltd (SANRAL) established. [SANRAL chronology, SCA case 2012]

April 1998: Gauteng Department of Transport and Public Works produces a policy document “Gauteng Toll Roads – Growth Means Transport: A Toll Roads Strategy for Gauteng”. The strategy envisages the construction of eight tolls at a 1996 cost of R6.8bn over 20 to 30 years. The policy was developed under the direction of Paul Mashatile, then Gauteng’s MEC for Transport and Public Works. [SANRAL chronology, SCA case 2012] [Civil Engineering journal, June 1998] [Dr Ismail Vadi, 31 January 2020, “Fashioning an integrated transport system for the Gauteng City-Region”]

2003

13 June 2003: Gauteng publishes the Gauteng Toll Roads Bill of 2003, “to provide for the declaration, construction, operation, maintenance, and control of provincial toll roads in Gauteng” and provide for charging of tolls. [Gauteng Provincial Gazette no. 203 of 13 June 2003] This bill was not processed by the Gauteng Legislature. [Dr Ismail Vadi, 31 January 2020, “Fashioning an integrated transport system for the Gauteng City-Region”]

2005

2005: SANRAL approached the Minister of Transport with a project proposal for the GFIP and open road tolling. [SANRAL presentation, 4 November 2010.]

2006

December 2006: SANRAL awards two 12-month contracts, together worth about R1.5 billion, for the design and supervision of upgrades for the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project, which has an estimated total project cost of R14 billion. “Cabinet is looking at the possibility of tolling sections of this highway,” said Pieter van Niekerk of consulting engineering and project management group SSI which was awarded the contracts. [SAICE, Civil Engineering, Vol 15 No 9, September 2007]

2007

23 May 2007: SANRAL publishes notice of intention to apply for environmental authorisations for the GFIP. [SANRAL chronology, SCA case 2012] 

24 July 2007: The Department of Transport submits a proposal to Cabinet on the GFIP scheme. “Cabinet noted the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Scheme proposal and supported the initiative in principle, subject to more attention being paid to environmental issues such as pollution (carbon emissions), and the involvement of municipalities on spatial issues such as location of developments and land acquisition. The Minister of transport will release the details of the scheme at a later stage.” [Cabinet statement, 24 July 2007]

8 October 2007: The Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project was launched by Minister of Transport Jeff Radebe. Radebe’s speech is here. “We are investing more than R12 billion in the first phase of this project, due for completion by 2010. For the second phase, which is due for completion in 2015, we will invest R20 billion and R23 billion for the final phase to be completed in 2018. This project will be financed through the 'user-pay' principle, and it will allow our roads to be funded, without resorting to the national fiscus for such projects,” said Radebe.

12 October 2007: SANRAL gazettes notices of intention to declare sections of Gauteng national roads as toll roads, with one month for public comment. [SANRAL, Department of Transport, Notices No.962-367 of 12 October 2007, Government Gazette no. 30372 of 12 October 2007] [See also parliamentary reply of 17 November 2010 RNW3097]

7 November 2007: Environmental authorisations under National Environmental Management Act for upgrading of national roads. [SANRAL chronology, SCA case 2012] 

14 December 2007: Closing date for public authorities to make representations in respect of declaration of toll roads. [SANRAL chronology, SCA case 2012] 

2008

11 February 2008: “Cabinet approved the GFIP at a cost of R23 billion,” Minister of Public Enterprises, Alec Erwin, told a media briefing. https://pmg.org.za/briefing/18602/

18 & 19 February 2008: Environmental authorisations under National Environmental Management Act for upgrading of national roads. [SANRAL chronology, SCA case 2012] 

20 February 2008: The national Budget says the estimated cost of the first phase of the GFIP, to be finished by 2012, is R14.3 billion. [National Treasury, Chapter 7 of the Budget Review 2008]

28 March 2008: The Gauteng roads are legally changed to toll roads, when SANRAL gazettes the declarations in terms of Section 27 of the South African National Roads Agency Limited and National Roads Act. These are six of the seven roads in the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project. [SANRAL, Department of Transport, Notices 349-354, Government Gazette no. 30912 of 28 March 2008]

18 April 2008: SANRAL publishes final notice of intent to toll, with 30 days for public comment.  [SANRAL chronology, SCA case 2012] [Government Gazette no. 30983 of 18 April 2003]

18 May 2008: Deadline for public comment on SANRAL’s final notice of intent to toll published on 18 April. [SANRAL chronology, SCA case 2012] [Government Gazette no. 30983 of 18 April 2003]

9 May 2008: SANRAL announces that it has awarded seven contracts for the first phase of the GFIP (125.5km) for a total of R11.5bn.

18 June 2008: Closing date for public authorities to make representations in respect of final declaration of toll roads. [SANRAL chronology, SCA case 2012] 

24 June 2008: Construction starts on the GFIP, with tenders awarded to the value of R15bn (excl VAT). [SANRAL presentation, 4 November 2010; SCA judgment, 9 October 2013.] 

28 July 2008: SANRAL changes sections of the R21 in Gauteng to a toll road, in a SANRAL declaration. The R21 is the seventh of the seven GFIP roads. This declaration was delayed as the R21 first had to be transferred from the Gauteng provincial government to SANRAL. [SANRAL, Department of Transport, Notice 800, Government Gazette no 31273 of 28 July 2008]

December 2008: SANRAL completes pre-qualification of potential contractors.  [SANRAL chronology, SCA case 2012]

2009

April 2009: SANRAL invites pre-qualified contractors to submit tenders for open-road tolling system. [SANRAL chronology, SCA case 2012]

8 September 2009: Construction of toll gantries starts. [SANRAL chronology, SCA case 2012] 

18 September 2009: SANRAL announces that it has awarded the open road tolling contract to the Electronic Toll Collection joint venture (ETC) for R1.6bn and that the system will go live in April 2011. [SANRAL statement, 18 September 2009] The ETC JV comprises Kapsch TrafficCom AG (based in Austria) and TMT Services and Supplies (Pty) Ltd. The joint venture was run by ETC, by agreement with SANRAL. ETC’s contract was linked to the date that e-tolls are switched on: ultimately 3 December 2013.
In 2014, the Gauteng advisory panel was told by SANRAL that the ETC contract was R6.22bn: "The value of the toll collection contract amounts to R6.22bn, according to SANRAL. This amount was R2.57bn lower than the next lowest tenderer. ETC is a joint venture between Kapsch (Sweden), Kapsch (Austria), and TMT (a South African company). The foreign members have a joint interest of 65% in the JV. Since the operation is based in South Africa and all running costs are spent locally (e.g. call centre, IT, procurement), the vast majority of the contract revenue remains in the country. SANRAL clarified that the only component of the contract that could leave South Africa is the dividends declared by the foreign partners, limited to 65% of after-tax profits, if any profits are realised." [Gauteng Provincial Government, “Gauteng Provincial Executive Council on report of advisory panel on impact of GFIP and e-Tolls”, 15 January 2015. The summary of recommendations is here and the panel's full report is here.]

19 December 2009: The Department of Transport publishes the draft Transport Law Enforcement and Related Matters General Amendment Bill of 2009, for public comment. The bill intends to provide more effectively for law enforcement on collection of tolls. [Department of Transport, Notice no. 1544, Government Gazette no. 31715 of 19 December 2008]

2010

17 February 2010: The national Budget says the GFIP total project cost is expected to be R22.0bn; this refers to Phase I (2012), phase 2 and 3 (2020). [National Treasury, Chapter 4, Budget Review 2010]

1 March 2010: The government’s Infrastructure Development Cluster says road networks get R70bn over three years, which “includes the R23bn Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project”. [GCIS, Infrastructure Development Cluster media briefing, 1 March 2010]

15 March 2010: The Department of Transport publishes the Transport Law Enforcement and Related Matters General Amendment Bill [B – 2010], for public comment. The bill intends to provide more effectively for law enforcement on collection of tolls. [Department of Transport, Notice no. 245, Government Gazette no. 33027 of 15 March 2010]

8 June 2010: Gautrain link from Sandton to OR Tambo International Airport opens. [Department of Transport statement, 9 June 2010] 

2011

4 February 2011: Department of Transport DG George Mahlalela announces that SANRAL’s toll fees for the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project will be set at 66c per km for cars, less for motorbikes and more for trucks. Prices of the 42 tolling points range in price for cars from R3.43 to R9.24 and for heavy vehicles from R20.58 to R55.44. Tolls are to be levied from 23 June 2011. [Department of Transport, Notice no. 52, Government Gazette no. 33987 of 4 February 2011] Public outcry follows.

22 February 2011: Transport Minister Sbu Ndebele and Gauteng Premier Nomvula Mokonyane announce the suspension of toll tariffs pending a task team review of the financial model. [“Gazetted GP tolls suspended”, SA News (South African Government News Agency), 22 February 2011]

7 March 2011: The GFIP Steering Committee is set up, comprising Transport DG George Mahlalela (chair), SANRAL CEO Nazir Alli, Kgaogelo Lekgoro from the Office of the Gauteng Premier, and Benny Monama from the Gauteng Department of Transport. [Pretoria News, “Fuel tax will kill the need for tolls”, 19 March 2011]

22 March to 7 April 2011: The GFIP Steering Committee holds public consultations on the disputed tolls. [Department of Transport statement, 16 March 2011] The committee ultimately recommended that the tariff be reduced from 66c to 30c/km with a monthly cap of R550 for e-tag users.

​April 2011: Tolling was due to start, and estimated revenue was R300 million per month. [Department of Transport vote, Estimates of National Expenditure, Budget 2010] The tolling was postponed.

27 May 2011: The Star reports that the cost of operating the e-toll system may be as high as R14 billion, which is more than double the R6.22bn SANRAL said it would cost. This is based on a confidential report. SANRAL says the tender to build and operate the toll operations was R6.22bn over eight years, excluding VAT. This is the ETC contract. However, The Star says a copy of ETC’s tender offer for contract N.001-201-2008/1 shows that the offer was for R9.9bn. [The Star, “Shock toll-roads report”, 27 May 2011]

10 June 2011: Engineering News summary of GFIP work, progress and list of contractors. The cost is R21bn, for 185km of freeway, intersection upgrades and land additions, with the cost estimated at R80m per kilometre to upgrade. [Engineering News, “Gauteng freeway improvement project, South Africa”, 10 June 2011]

23 June 2011: Tolling was due to start on this day, but was postponed indefinitely due to public protests. [Engineering News, “Gauteng freeway improvement project, South Africa”, 10 June 2011] [SCA judgment, 9 October 2013]

30 June 2011: GFIP Steering Committee recommends tariffs be reduced from R2.97/km to R2km for large vehicles, from R1.49/km to R1/km for medium vehicles, from 49c/km to 40c/km for light vehicles, from 30c/km to 24c/km for motorcycles, and from 16.5c/km to 11c/km for taxis. [GFIP Steering Committee statement, 30 June 2011]

4 July 2011: Minister of Transport S’bu Ndebele withdraws the GFIP tolls tariffs gazette on 4 February 2011. [Department of Transport, Notice no. 437, Government Gazette no. 34419 of 4 July 2011]

2 August 2011: The Gautrain link from Johannesburg to Tshwane opens. [“Cabinet approves toll tariffs for Gauteng Freeway”, Cabinet statement, 11 August 2011]

10 August 2011: Cabinet approves the new e-toll tariffs as recommended by the GFIP Steering Committee on 30 June 2011, and exempts taxis and commuter buses from e-tolls. The tariffs are: Class A1 (motorcycles): 24c/km; Class A2 (light motor vehicles): 40c/km; Class B (medium vehicles): 100c/km; Class C (longer vehicles): 200c/km. "The implementation of further phases of the GFIP will now be re-assessed, including by the newly announced Presidential Commission on Infrastructure. The re-assessment will involve discussions on infrastructure strategic priorities, on how best to address the challenges of congestion on some of our key road networks, and on funding of these priorities," said the Cabinet. [“Cabinet approves toll tariffs for Gauteng Freeway”, Cabinet statement, 11 August 2011]

11 August 2011: The South African Vehicle and Leasing Association (SAVRALA) says it is not convinced that the urban tolling model is the most efficient and cost effective. “An independent transport regulator should have been in place at the beginning of this process to ensure that there is reasonable oversight and due administrative process. In its absence, the fact that, in Gauteng we will be expected to pay R6,2bn to collect approximately R20bn, a collection cost of 30% over five years without any real transparency of the real costs involved is reason alone for grave concern,” said SAVRALA. [SAVRALA statement, “Government clearly desperate to implement at any cost”, 11 August 2011] 

22 August 2011: Minister of Transport tells Parliament that the estimated budget for GFIP Phase I is R22.7bn excl VAT or R25.9bn incl VAT. [Written reply, question 2001, 22 August 2011]

23 October 2011: Minister of Transport instructs SANRAL to postpone the e-tolls. [SANRAL chronology, OUTA appeal on e-tolls.]

27 October 2011: SANRAL announces that e-tolling will start in February 2012. [SANRAL chronology, OUTA appeal on e-tolls.]

November 2011: Public hearings on e-tolls. [News24, “E-tolls timeline”, 2 December 2013]

1 November 2011: Ministry of Transport clarifies the Minister’s statement of 23 October, saying that GFIP Phase I is almost complete and the Ministry wants to hear alternative views from the public on the best model for financing the debt, and that GFIP Phase II will not commence until all consultative processes have been exhausted. [Polity, “Statement by the Department of Transport, on the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project e-tolling”, 1 November 2011]

7 November 2011: SANRAL commences e-toll registration. [SANRAL chronology, SCA case 2012]

2012

13 January 2012: SANRAL says e-tolling will not start in February 2012 as planned. [Arrive Alive, “SANRAL says e-tolling in Gauteng will not start in February”, 13 January 2012]

22 February 2012: Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan says in his Budget speech that the total GFIP debt is R20bn, and that a special appropriation of R5.8bn is made in the 2011/12 expenditure, to reduce the debt to be repaid through the toll system and thus reduce the toll burden.

9 March 2012: Bailout: National Treasury tells Parliament that an additional allocation of R5.75bn is being provided to SANRAL in 2011/12 to pay towards GFIP debt, and that the total debt for the GFIP phase 1 was R20bn, which SANRAL raised through the bond market, and of which R19bn is guaranteed by government. GFIP Phase 1 is 185km and has been completed. The note also recommends increasing SANRAL’s debt from R58.42bn to R59bn, reducing e-toll fees, capping toll fees at R550 per month. “The reduction of the tariffs with the R5.75 billion fiscal support will result in a maximum debt level of R59 billion in 2021/22 and for the debt to be paid off by 2033/34.” [9 March 2012, National Treasury, "Supporting Note on the Additional Adjustment Appropriation Bill (2011/12 financial year), 2012", presented to Parliament’s Standing Committee on Appropriations. Also see Additional Adjustments Appropriation Act (2011/12 financial year) of 2012.]

12 March 2012: The Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance (OUTA) is established. It is a voluntary association set up to prevent the tolling by SANRAL of the seven Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project roads. The members of OUTA include the South African Vehicle and Leasing Association (SAVRALA, which represents 22 companies), the Automobile Association, 94 other businesses and 1831 individual supporters [SCA judgment of 9 October 2013]. SAVRALA announces the formation of OUTA as an alliance to unite action against e-tolling. [SAVRALA, “Alliance formed in opposition to urban tolling”, 14 March 2012]

23 March 2012: OUTA, SAVRALA, QuadPara and the SA Consumer Union file an application in the Pretoria High Court to overturn the decisions to declare the Gauteng freeways as toll roads and to declare the e-tolls unlawful. The court dismissed this application on 13 December 2012, and the Supreme Court of Appeal dismissed OUTA’s appeal on 9 October 2013. [ OUTA’s founding affidavit of 23 March 2012 is  here.  The high court judgment is here and the SCA judgment is here.]

26 March 2012: Bailout: The Additional Adjustment Appropriation Act (2011/12 financial year), 2012 contains an additional allocation of R5.75 billion for paying GFIP debt; this is used to reduce the tariffs. This is the bailout announced in Parliament on 9 March 2012. [Act published in  Government Gazette no. 35184 of 26 March 2012]

27 March 2012: Minister of Transport issues the South African National Roads Agency Limited and National Roads Act Regulations 2012. Among other things, the regulations allow traffic officers to question drivers as to whether they have paid tolls and tell them to pay or stop using toll roads. [Department of Transport, Notice no. R.252, Government Gazette 35182 of 27 March 2012]

13 April 2012: Department of Transport DG George Mahlalela publishes the GFIP tolls, payable from 30 April 2012. [Department of Transport, Notice no. 310, Government Gazette no. 35263 of 13 April 2012]

18 April 2012: Department of Transport announces that public transport and emergency vehicles will be exempted from GFIP tolls. This is in the Draft First Amendment to the South African National Roads Agency Limited and National Roads Regulations (Exemptions from Payment of Tolls), 2012. [Department of Transport, Notice no. 338, Government Gazette no. 35148 of 18 April 2012]

18 April 2012: Department of Transport publishes the GFIP conditions for toll, which lists centres for paying e-tolls. [Department of Transport, Notice no. 320, Government Gazette no. 35271 of 18 April 2012]

18 April 2012: National Treasury says in papers in the Pretoria High Court case brought by OUTA to stop the e-tolls that the total debt incurred by SANRAL to fund the GFIP first phase was R20 billion, with R19bn of this guaranteed by government, and this was procured by issuing bonds, which are effectively repayable loans. [Affidavit by Andrew Donaldson, para 22]

23 April 2012: Bailout: National Treasury announces that Cabinet has decided to make R5.75bn available to the GFIP, to allow the average toll charge per km to be reduced. Implementation is still due to start on 30 April 2012. This appears to be the bailout in the Additional Adjustment Appropriation Act (2011/12 financial year), 2012 (see above). [National Treasury statement, 23 April 2012]

24 to 26 April 2012: The e-tolls case is argued in the Pretoria High Court. ​

26 April 2012: The Minister of Transport postpones the start of e-tolls, which had been due to start on 30 April. This is the fifth postponement of the proposed tolling. [Referred to in Pretoria High Court judgment on the interim interdict in the e-tolls case of 28 April 2012]

28 April 2012: Pretoria High Court grants OUTA an urgent interim order blocking the switching on of the e-tolls, pending the outcome of OUTA’s application for a review of the legality of the e-tolls. The interim order is here. SANRAL and the Treasury appealed this in the Constitutional Court and, on 20 September 2012, the Concourt overturned this interim order but did not interfere with the review. OUTA ultimately lost the review application in December 2012.

30 April 2012: GFIP tolls were due to be switched on, with reduced tariffs for vehicles with e-tags; this was blocked by the high court interdict of 28 April 2012. [Statement on Cabinet meeting of 22 February 2012]

22 May 2012: Treasury files an application to appeal the interim interdict granted by the Pretoria High Court in the Constitutional Court.

31 May 2012: Minister of Transport S’bu Ndebele withdraws the GFIP tariffs gazette on 13 April 2012. [Department of Transport, Notice no. 451, Government Gazette no. 35402 of 31 May 2012]

5 June 2012: SANRAL CEO Nazir Alli withdraws the conditions for toll notice (notice no. 320 of 18 April 2012).  [SANRAL, Notice 438, Government Gazette no. 35421 of 5 June 2012]

15 August 2012: Constitutional Court hears argument in the e-tolls case.

20 September 2012: The Constitutional Court overturns the interim order suspending the e-tolls. The interim order was granted by the Pretoria High Court to OUTA et al on 28 April 2012 pending the outcome of a review of the legality of e-tolls; the respondents SANRAL et al appealed this interim order directly to the Concourt and it was overturned before the review was finalised.

25 October 2012: The Department of Transport issues draft regulations on exempting public transport and emergency vehicle from paying tolls, for public comment. [Department of Transport, Notice no. R. 803, Government Gazette no. 35755 of 25 October 2012]

25 October 2012: SANRAL publishes GFIP toll tariffs for public comment. [SANRAL, notice no. 801, Government Gazette no. 35756 of 25 October 2012]

25 October 2012: SANRAL publishes call for comment on exemptions from GFIP tolls for public transport and emergency vehicles. [SANRAL, notice no. 802, Government Gazette no. 35756 of 25 October 2012]

25 October 2012: SANRAL publishes conditions for toll, which lists centres for paying e-tolls. [SANRAL, notice no. 803, Government Gazette no. 35756 of 25 October 2012] ​

The Minister of Transport subsequently tells Parliament in a written reply that the above gazettes on toll tariffs, conditions for tolling and proposed exemptions received "about 12 500 written responses". [RNW2027 of September 2013]

26 October 2012: Minister of Transport Ben Martins announces that the Cabinet has decided that e-tolls will go ahead. ​

13 December 2012: Pretoria High Court dismisses application by OUTA, SAVRALA, QuadPara and the SA Consumer Union to declare the e-tolls illegal, and awards costs against OUTA et al. The judgment is here.

2013

25 January 2013: Pretoria High Court grants OUTA et al leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal against the December ruling on e-tolls.

24 May 2013: Department of Transport publishes draft GFIP tolls for public comment. [Department of Transport, notice no. 534, Government Gazette no. 36479 of 24 May 2013]

23 September 2013: The appeal by OUTA et al against Pretoria High Court judgment on e-tolls is heard in the Supreme Court of Appeal.

26 September 2013: The Transport Laws and Related Matters Amendment Act is gazetted. This is the "e-tolls law" which includes toll-related matters and excludes tolls from the ambit of the National Credit Act. [Government Gazette no. 36878 of 26 September 2013]

9 October 2013: Supreme Court of Appeal dismisses the appeal by OUTA and others against the high court’s dismissal of the e-toll review case, but reverses the costs order against OUTA. The judgment is here.

9 October 2013: President proclaims the commencement of the Transport Laws and Related Matters Amendment Act, 2013, from 9 October 2013 (the e-tolls law). [Proclamation No. R. 44, 2013, Government Gazette no. 36911 of 9 October 2013]

9 October 2013: Department of Transport issues the following regulations in terms of the South African National Roads Agency Limited and National Roads Act: the E-Road Regulations; the Specification Regulations; the Regulations on Exemptions from the Payment of Tolls; and the Regulations in Terms of the National Road Traffic Act. [Department of Transport, notices no. R. 739, no. R. 740, no. R. 741 and no. R. 758, Government Gazette no. 36911 of 9 October 2013]

9 October 2013: Department of Transport and SANRAL publish for public comment the GFIP tariffs. [Department of Transport, notice no. 1006, Government Gazette no. 36912 of 9 October 2013]

23 October 2013: Minister of Transport S’bu Ndebele announces he has instructed SANRAL to halt all processes relating to tolling of national roads, to enable public consultation. [Polity, “Statement by the Department of Transport, on the suspension of the Gauteng toll roads”, 23 October 2011]

29 October 2013: The Catholic Bishops of Southern Africa call e-tolls “extortion”. Without directly calling for a boycott of e-tolls, the bishops asked Catholics to show solidarity in opposing them. [The Southern Cross, " Bishops: e-tolls are ‘extortion’ ”, 29 October 2013] 

19 November 2013: Department of Transport publishes the following notices: the e-toll tariffs, with effect from 3 December 2013; the Conditions for Payment of e-tolls; and the Exemption from the Payment of Toll for emergency and public transport vehicles. [Department of Transport, notice no. R.887, notice no. R. 888, and notice no. R 889, Government Gazette no. 37038 of 19 November 2013]

19 November 2013: Minister of Transport Dipuo Peters says SANRAL has 1 427 900 unsold e-tags out of 2 107 000 procured over the last three year. [Sapa, published in Mail & Guardian, “Sanral with 1.4m unsold e-tags despite pricey ad campaign”, 19 November 2013]

20 November 2013: Minister of Transport Dipuo Peters announces that e-tolls will start on 3 December 2013. [News24, “E-tolls timeline”, 2 December 2013] [Mail & Guardian, “E-toll system to go live on December 3”, 20 November 2013]

3 December 2013: Tolling starts on GFIP. [Cabinet statement, 20 November 2013] The three ETC e-toll collection contracts were pegged to timelines from this date: the Open Road Tolling (ORT) contract was for eight years (ending December 2021), and the Transaction Clearing House (TCH) contract and the Violation Processing Centre (VPC) were each for five years (to 2 December 2018) with options to renew for a further two years (to 2 December 2020). [Contract lengths in parliamentary reply RNW319 of 6 March 2017]

2014

14 January 2014: The Presidency reacts to public anger over the switch-on of the e-tolls with a statement saying that the system is necessary to pay off the SANRAL bonds. [The Presidency, “E-tolls are part of a broader infrastructure programme”, 17 January 2014]

12 May 2014: Department of Transport extends the grace period discount for GFIP users who pay and register. [Department of Transport, notice no. 360, Government Gazette no. 37637 of 12 May 2014] ​

4 July 2014: Minister of Transport Dipuo Peters tells Parliament that unpaid e-toll bills may not be used to refuse motorists permission to renew their motor vehicle licences, as outstanding e-toll accounts are not described as infringements in the Service Level Agreement with the Department of Transport. [Reply to Parliament RNW416, 4 July 2014]

2015

15 January 2015: Gauteng Premier David Makhura releases the Report of the Advisory Panel on the Socio-economic Impact of the GFIP and e-Tolls. The panel handed the report to the Premier on 30 November 2014 and the Premier tabled it before the provincial executive council on 8 December 2014. [Gauteng Provincial Government, “Gauteng Provincial Executive Council on report of advisory panel on impact of GFIP and e-Tolls”, 15 January 2015. The summary of recommendations is here and the panel's full report is here.] ​

20 May 2015: Subsidy: Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa announces a new dispensation on e-tolls , which will start on 1 July 2015. This includes a reduced tariff, the reduction of the monthly cap to R225 a month for cars, a discount of 60% on outstanding fees, and no charge for motorists who make less than 30 gantry passes in a year. Those who do not pay within 30 days will be charged double. “ The significant reduction in tariffs and the new monthly caps will result in an annual estimated shortfall of R390 million in revenue to service the debt. This shortfall will be shared between national government and the Gauteng provincial government,” said Ramaphosa. [Statement by Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa on the new dispensation for the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project, 20 May 2015]. SANRAL’s explanation of the new dispensation is here.

17 June 2015: Publication of toll tariffs with effect from 2 July 2015 [Government Gazette no. 38884 of 17 June 2015], with a correction on 1 July 2015 [Government Gazette no. 38949 of 1 July 2015], a correction on 24 July 2015 to e-toll time-of-day discounts [Government Gazette no. 39027 of 24 July 2015] and a correction on 16 October 2015 [Government Gazette no. 39298 of 16 October 2015].

September 2015: SANRAL begins to send notices of intention to summons e-toll defaulters.

October 2015: OUTA launches its E-Toll Defence Umbrella public funding strategy to defend those summonsed for failure to pay e-tolls through using its own legal team to build mandated cases for each individual summonsed.

21 October 2015: Department of Transport sets the dates for a once-off 60% discount on outstanding e-tolls as 2 November 2015 to 2 May 2016, for unpaid e-tolls incurred up to and including 31 August 2015. [Government Gazette no.39306 of 21 October 2015]

2016

18 February 2016: OUTA’s name is changed to the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse, and its mandate expanded to tackle government corruption and maladministration.​

26 February 2016: SANRAL publishes e-toll tariffs and rebates, with effect from 12 March 2016. [Government Gazette no. 39754 of 26 February 2016]

11 March 2016: Department of Transport issues a correction to e-toll tariffs, slightly lowering them. [Government Gazette no. 39812 of 11 March 2016]

5 August 2016: Department of Transport publishes exemptions from and rebates on e-tolls. [Government Gazette no. 40189 of 5 August 2016]

17 August 2016: Electronic Toll Collections (ETC) becomes fully owned by the Austrian company Kapsch, after divesting its BEE partner in TMT Services and Supplies. [New24, published on Politicsweb, “E-tolls collection firm no longer in SA hands”, 17 August 2016]

24 November 2016: The Department of Transport issues the E-Road Regulations, in terms of the SANRAL and National Roads Act. [Government Gazette no. 40442 of 24 November 2016] ​

3 December 2016: OUTA believes that unpaid e-toll debts which have not been transferred to legal claims start prescribing from this date (three years after e-tolls went live). Debt prescribes if, during the past three years, the consumer did not admit to owing on the debt either verbally or in writing, did not make payment, and the complainant did not take legal action.  

19 December 2016: SANRAL publishes exemptions from e-tolls for public transport. And emergency vehicles. [Government Gazette no. 40508 of 19 December 2016]

2017

16 February 2017: Department of Transport publishes annual e-toll tariff increases, with effect from 3 March 2017. [Government Gazette no. 40623 of 16 February 2017]

3 April 2017: SANRAL and ETC agree to amend the three e-toll contracts (Open Road Tolling, Transaction Clearing House and Violations Processing Centre) to all run for six years, all ending on 2 December 2019, with an option to extend by a further 12 or 24 months, effectively extending the contract to seven or eight years. [ETC statement, 11 December 2018]

10 May 2017: OUTA serves SANRAL with responding pleas to summonses issued to OUTA’s contributing supporters for outstanding e-toll payments. This is expected to become the test case for challenging the legality of the e-tolls. The matter is SANRAL’s action against Thandanani Truckers and Hauliers in the Pretoria High Court. SANRAL served Thandanani with a summons for R402 841 in unpaid e-toll fees, run up from January 2014 to August 2015. [OUTA statement, “Gloves are off as OUTA files e-toll court papers”, 11 May 2017]

1 September 2017: Department of Transport amends the exemptions from e-tolls for public transport. Government Gazette no. 41085 of 1 September 2017]

2018

28 March 2018: Department of Transport publishes the annual increase in GFIP e-toll tariffs, with effect from 12 April 2018.  [Government Gazette no. 41545 of 28 March 2018]​

30 August 2018: Minister of Transport Blade Nzimande says Gauteng's e-tolls are needed to pay SANRAL's debt of R67bn; OUTA points out that this is SANRAL's entire debt for all the toll roads, not just the GFIP, and also questions how this amount jumped from the R47bn which the previous minister told Parliament about in November 2017. [OUTA, "Minister Nzimande is confused on e-toll funding", 31 August 2018]

24 October 2018: Bailout: Department of Transport transfers R5.750bn to the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project, due to the failure of road users to pay e-tolls. This is a transfer within the department's budget, from the non-toll roads budget and the railways budget. [Announced in the Mid-Term Budget Policy Statement of 24 October 2018, and finalised in the Adjustments Appropriation Act 2018, gazetted in January 2019] [Department of Transport statement, 11 March 2019]

2019

1 February 2019: Department of Transport publishes the annual increases in GFIP e-toll tariffs, with effect from 1 March 2019.  [Government Gazette no. 42209 of 1 February 2019]​

18 March 2019: The Credit Bureau Association says that customers cannot be blacklisted for defaulting on e-toll payments. "The Transport Laws and Related Matters Amendment Act, 2013, which amended the South African National Roads Agency Limited and National Roads Act, 1998, specifically excludes the levying and collecting of e-tolls from the provisions of the National Credit Act, 2005," said the Association.  [CBA, "Consumer information relating to e-tolls / SANRAL will not be held on the credit bureaus", 18 March 2019] 

26 March 2019:  SANRAL passes an urgent resolution at a board meeting stating that it will no longer pursue action against motorists with outstanding e-toll debt. “It resolved that given the initiative led by President Cyril Ramaphosa to address the e-tolls payment impasse, SANRAL will, with immediate effect, suspend the process of pursuing e-toll debt. This includes historic debt and summonses applied for from 2015. No new summonses will be applied for,” said SANRAL.  [News24, Sanral suspends process of pursuing e-toll debt, 27 March 2019 ; SANRAL statement, SANRAL’s board passes resolution on e-toll summonses, 27 March 2019]​

10 July 2019: Cabinet held a meeting and later announced that President Cyril Ramaphosa had mandated Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni and Gauteng Premier David Makhura “to find a solution of the e-tolling on Gauteng freeways”, that consultations would be held within government and “workable outcomes” would be presented to Cabinet by the end of August 2019. By the end of 2020, a decision was still awaited. [GCIS, Statement on the Cabinet meeting of 10 July 2019, 11 July 2019]​

8 August 2019: SANRAL advertised a tender for a new six-year contract to collect e-tolls. This was in reaction to the fact that the existing contract, with Electronic Toll Collections (ETC), was about to expire on 2 December 2019. [OUTA statement, A new e-toll contract risks wasteful spend, 26 November 2019]​

28 August 2019: OUTA met Minister Mbalula to share our views and extensive research on the e-toll impasse and discuss solutions. OUTA also presented its input in a 60-page e-toll position paper, Getting Beyond the E-toll Impasse. Minister Mbalula said further meetings would be held with other stakeholders, indicating the August deadline for the solutions to the impasse – as tasked by the President – would not be met. [OUTA statement, No end yet to e-toll, 28 August 2019]

5 December 2019: SANRAL extended its expired e-toll collection contract with ETC for three months [Moneyweb, Sanral extends ETC e-toll contract for another three months, 6 December 2019] pending either a decision to scrap the e-toll scheme or the finalisation of a new e-toll tender for the new five-year contract [OUTA statement,  A new e-toll contract risks wasteful spend , 26 November 2019].

2020

7 February 2020: Department of Transport’s annual increase in GFIP tolls with effect from 1 March 2020. [Department of Transport notice no. 114, Government Gazette no. 43002 of 7 February 2020]

31 March 2020: "Toll levies and borrowings on commercial markets have been the main sources of finance for the development, upgrading, repair, maintenance and operation of national toll roads managed directly by SANRAL. These constitute some 7% of the national road network. However, due to the under-collection of e-tolls on the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP), government grants have become a significant supplementary source of funding for the toll portfolio." GFIP receives a government grant each year plus an extra transfer in 2019/20: "The Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP) showed a decrease of 4% in revenue. This project is the only SANRAL toll route that receives a government grant. This grant is intended to offset the discounts on tariffs instituted in response to public opposition to tolling on Gauteng freeways. In 2019/20, this grant amounted to R2.668bn. The Minister of Transport, as SANRAL’s sole shareholder, approved a transfer of R2.5bn to the GFIP account from the non-toll government grant to reduce the expected shortfall." [SANRAL Integrated Report 2019/20]

24 June 2020: Bailout: The Supplementary Budget includes a bailout of R2.530bn for the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project. This is funded with the budget of the national Department of Transport, by moving funds away from the non-toll network. In this rearrangment of funds, the department moved R3.935bn away from the non-toll network capital expenditure and R1.756bn away from the Provincial Roads Maintenance Grant; part of this went to the GFIP, part to other departmental operations, and about R2.5bn to other departments. This Supplementary Budget was in response to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns. The Bill was tabled with the Supplementary Budget and was subsequently passed by Parliament and finalised in August 2020. [National Treasury, Adjustments Appropriation Act 2020, Supplementary Budget]

16 November 2020: Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula signs a performance agreement with President Cyril Ramaphosa that includes a requirement to implement the user-pay principle, as part of increasing access to affordable and reliable transport systems.

• Intervention: Develop strategy for the implementation of the user-pay principle.
• Indicator: Compliance to the user-pay principle.
• Baseline: New target
• Target: “100% compliance with user pay principle by 2024.”
• Minister’s responsibility: “Ensure users pay for services rendered.”

2 December 2020: SANRAL’s original e-tolls collection contract with Electronic Toll Collections (ETC) was supposed to expire today after the maximum of two single-year extensions. However, SANRAL had in mid-2017 quietly rewritten the contract to allow it to run until 2 December 2021. SANRAL confirmed the extension of the contract. [SANRAL statement, 2 December 2020]

2021

15 February 2021: Department of Transport publishes the annual increases in GFIP e-toll tariffs, with effect from 1 March 2021. [Department of Transport notice no. 81, Government Gazette no. 44145 of 11 February 2021.]

12 May 2021: Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Transport report, in reference to SANRAL, said: "There was still no final decision regarding the GFIP/e-toll funding model. Members were of the view that the e-toll funding model issue must be finalised as it was not acceptable to have it drag on any longer." The report recommendations included this on the Department of Transport: "The Department must deliver the final decision regarding the GFIP/e-toll policy matter, as soon as Cabinet releases its decision on this matter." [Report of the PC on Transport, ATC 59, 12 May 2021]

21 September 2021: Department of Transport Director-General Alec Moemi told Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Transport, in response to a question, that further studies on e-tolls were being done but insisted that they remained an official government programme.  [PC on Transport meeting minutes, 21 September 2021]

2022

18 May 2022: Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula said his ministry had been working with the Minister of Finance "to finalise outstanding matters that will enable the final determination by Cabinet on the funding of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project, better known as e-tolls. We are alive to the adverse impact the delay in making the final decision on e-tolls has on the SANRAL balance sheet and its ability to raise capital for its catalytic projects".  [Minister Mbalula's speech in the National Assembly on the department's budget, 18 May 2022]

26 October 2022: Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana announces in his Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS 2022) that alternative funding is being found for the GFIP debt, effectively ending e-tolls. National government is to pay 70% of the debt and Gauteng 30%. The MTBPS including a transfer of R23.736 billion from national government to Sanral to pay off government-guaranteed debt, conditional on a solution to phase 1 of GFIP, plus another R3.740bn moved from non-toll roads to the GFIP roads, which runs through the Transport vote. See here. Clarity on the legal ending of e-tolls and the financial arrangements was promised by the end of December 2022.

3 November 2022: The National Treasury said Sanral's total debt as at 31 March 2022 was R45.936 billion, and the value of debt attributed to GFIP Phase I was R43.031bn. Treasury said the Gauteng provincial government would cover 30% of the debt and interest obligations of GFIP Phase I and the maintenance costs of GFIP Phase I. See here.

18 November 2022: OUTA makes a submission on MTBPS 2022 to the Standing and Select Committees on Appropriations, calling for clarity on the GFIP and Sanral debt (including the size of those debts and how the funds from Treasury over the years affected the current amount owing). See here.

​

2023

2024

28 March 2024: The notice which deproclaimed the Gauteng freeways as toll roads - effectively ending the e-tolls - was gazetted, with effect from one second before midnight on 11 April 2024. The notice is here.

11 April 2024: The e-toll gantries were switched off at 23:59:59. This notice is here.

Replies to Parliament by various Ministers with information on the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP)

2009

7 December 2009: RNW2354: Overview of GFIP. 15 construction contracts, most awarded between April and June 2008, most due for completion towards end of 2010 and all by mid-2011.

2010

17 November 2010: RNW3097: The GFIP approval process, statutory requirements and public participation. Includes: "The toll declaration process commenced in October 2007. Preceding this process, the various Provincial and Metropolitan authorities were consulted, and they accepted the principles of the project, namely that the freeways are upgraded and financed through the 'user pay' principle." Also includes lists of municipalities consulted. "79 representations/objections were received from the public. Of these, 53 signed a single petition, one was received outside the comment period and one was not forwarded in the manner stipulated in the Notice of Intent. SANRAL responded to all written representations. The public's comments (all 79) were taken into account in the declaration of the national route as a toll road and the impact that the decision to be made would have on affected parties. They were factored in the decision reached by mitigating adverse impacts, if any, that the toll road would have." On job creation: "At the height of the construction period in 2009, more than 29 000 people could be directly employed as a result of the project. From 2012 onwards it is expected that 3 030 people would be directly employed on either maintaining the road or maintaining and operating the toll system. This number then increases to 12 843 in 2027, largely as a result of the business time savings. The majority of the direct jobs created during the construction period are created at the low income level, thus having the ability to contribute significantly to poverty alleviation. The project generates an even higher number of indirect job opportunities."

2011

28 March 2011: RNW328: GFIP total cost was R19.23bn excluding VAT (including road construction of R16.9bn including CPA excluding VAT). This does not include financing costs. "The contracts are between 55 and 65% complete and adhering to the timelines. The contracts that started after June 2008 are on track to be completed by the contractual completion date."

25 July 2011: RNW1731: Companies contracts for feasibility and costing studies for GFIP construction: Goba (Pty) Ltd / Tolplan (Pty) Ltd JV; School of Business from UCT, with Arup; University of Johannesburg. Costs of major aspects of the studies: R8.850m for the GFIP Toll Feasibility Study, and R.171m for the GFIP Tariffs and Discount Study.

10 August 2011: RNW1729: Steering Committee to review the proposed toll tariffs and implement a broad consultative process.

23 September 2011: RNW2395:  Exemptions for taxis.

23 September 2011: Number unknown. NW2662E. Costs of collection system.

22 August 2011: RNW2001: GFIP total cost was R22.7bn excl VAT, or R25.9bn including VAT. "The first phase...  was divided into 18 civil construction work packages and 15 work packages related to the toll infrastructure and systems, including intelligent transport systems. "

5 October 2011: RNW2689: Exemptions for SAPS, SANDF, but not municipal vehicles.

5 October 2011: RNW2685: Use of public input in reducing toll fees from 66c/km to 50c/km.

11 October 2011: RNW2827 & updated reply: Estimated GFIP costs.

31 October 2011: RNW2598: Road user benefits of GFIP.

2 December 2011: RNW3394: The use of local vs international technology in GFIP. The tender award: "The tender was awarded to ETC (Pty) Ltd, which is a joint venture between a local and international company. The technology for the tag readers is provided by Kapsch, the international partner of the joint venture. The back office software and hardware are provided by both TMT (local partner) and Kapsch. The electronic tags were procured through a separate tender process. Two suppliers are providing tags, namely Q-free and Kapsch."

12 December 2011: RNW3640: GFIP fluorescent lights / blue lights.

2012

15 March 2012: RNW172: List of applicants who pre-qualified for the tender process for e-toll operator, for these contracts: Road Side System; Open Road Tolling Back Office; Transaction Clearing House; Violation Processing Centre; Main Contractor.

2 April 2012: RNW405: Exemptions: Only SAPS and SANDF vehicles are exempted by law from tolls. Qualifying public transport (taxis and buses) is charged a zero tariff, to promote the use of public transport.

23 April 2012: RCW141: Projected annual toll revenue for GFIP (assuming tolling starts 30 April 2012): R1.0184bn for 2013 FY; R2.4945bn for 2014FY. Plus collection costs and maintenance and improvement of roads costs.

18 May 2012: RNW1337: Transnet Second Defined Benefit Fund has not invested bonds in SANRAL or GFIP.

14 September 2012: RNW1859: The Electronic Toll Collections (ETC) sub-contractors are named (27 of the 33 sub-contractors).

14 November 2012: RNW3086: Questions why only 27 of the 33 ETC sub-contractors were named in RNW1859; this reply contains a full list of 34 sub-contractors.

2013

22 March 2013: RNW556: Why is the GFIP funded by tolls rather than a fuel levy? Response includes: "The entire system is designed to ensure that where affordable, users of services and polluters must pay for the goods and services they consume... no one tax can or should be earmarked for a specific activity in line with good taxation practices..." Fuel levy is used because: "It approximates the user-pay principle more directly" and "The toll system also deals more directly and effectively with the challenges of urban traffic congestion, by favouring public transport over private transport. A fuel levy is not as effective in this regard."

September 2013: RNW2027: "Exhaustive consultation workshops on GFIP took place..." List of workshops and public consultation included.

August 2013: RNW1728: SANRAL spent R23 257 989 advertising GFIP in 2013/14.

September 2013: RNW2182: "Yes, (a) the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP) will still be implemented in 2013, however, the date for the commencement of the tolling has not been determined. (b) The Department is awaiting the promulgation of the Transport Laws and Related Matters Amendment Bill (the Bill is still with the State President for assenting."

2014

1 April 2014: RNW333: Total revenue transferred to the Violations Processing Centre as at 28 February 2014 was R543 544 574, of which R50 043 487 has been paid.

1 April 2014: RNW339: Revenue transferred to the Violations Processing Centre.

4 July 2014: RNW416: Unpaid e-toll bills may not be used to refuse motorists permission to renew their motor vehicle licences, as outstanding e-toll accounts are not described as infringements in the Service Level Agreement with the Department of Transport.

25 July 2014: RNW404: In the first six months of e-toll operations, there were 1 134 834 users on the roads, with non-registered users owing R156 623 567 for more than 90 days.

August 2014: RNW773: Why disabled people must pay e-tolls: "The criteria behind the user pays principle is that all users should pay for the use of the service. This may however be tempered, in so far as tolling is concerned, by the ability (in accordance with the requirements of the SANRAL Act) to exempt certain users from the obligation to pay toll. Qualifying public transport and emergency services have, in accordance with the requirements of the SANRAL Act, been exempt from the payment of toll on the GFIP toll roads. In addition, SANRAL has adopted a formal process to receive and consider representations regarding possible further exemptions from the payment of toll on the GFIP toll roads. SANRAL is currently considering representations regarding the exemption, from the payment of toll on the GFIP toll roads, of certain categories of users with disabilities."

August 2014: RNW137: The e-toll collections. "(1) The nominal value of revenue collected by SANRAL, an agency of the Department, representing charges to road users, for the months requested are: (a) December 2013 = R331.6 million (b) January 2014 = R373.6 million. (2) The budgeted cash receipts for GFIP is R2.4 billion per annum (at least R200 million per month). (3) Since toll commencement 2 410 896 individual vehicles have been identified on the network. As at 25 February 2014, 1012 454 vehicles have been registered, of which 76% have been identified on the network." Number of vehicles registered as at 31 January 2014, excluding e-tags sold by retailers but not registered: local authorities 19 123; provincial government departments 33 283; national government departments 7 601; corporate customers 383 654; private vehicles 468 387. 

August 2014: RNW234: Tolls on the GFIP are not payable at a toll plaza, but "at a place (other than a toll plaza) determined by SANRAL". Reference to law on this aspect.

August 2014: RNW406: No obligation on any user to buy an e-tag. "The only requirement, in terms of legislation, is that a user is liable for toll when using a toll road." Vehicles which are exempt from e-tolls are required to register with SANRAL and have an e-tag.

August 2014: RNW525: Is SANRAL planning to sue the construction firms which were found guilty of collusion by the Competition Commission and recover funds? "All of the implicated SANRAL projects are historical projects. In order to pursue any claims against the Contractors the potential damages in respect of each project are being assessed. As the honourable member would appreciate that any claim for damages must be supported with facts and be pleaded with a great deal of particularity. This process involves collating and evaluating historical data. To this end SANRAL has appointed an independent estimator and an independent economist to calculate the damages suffered by SANRAL, if any, as a result of the collusive tendering. In light of the tremendous amount of historical data that must be collated and assessed, it is anticipated that the work undertaken by the specialist will be completed in approximately 6 - 9 months."

August 2014: RNW526: Is e-toll funding used for the extension and maintenance of non-GFIP roads? "SANRAL's toll road portfolio is ring fenced in terms of the SANRAL legislation, which means that toll revenue can only be used to service and maintain toll roads. The 201km of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project forms part of the SANRAL Toll portfolio of 3120km. Each toll route within the portfolio has to be able to repay its initial construction cost as well as be maintained. The health of each toll route is checked bi-annually and the results are disclosed in the Annual Report and audited by the Auditor-General. However, as a result of the delay in toll commencement on GFIP and initial construction already completed by mid 2011, SANRAL's overall borrowings had to increase to continue servicing the debt as well as maintain the roads. So, it could be derived that the other toil routes have been supporting GFIP to an extent. Therefore no revenue collected on GFIP has been used for anything other than toll roads."

17 September 2014: RNW1131: SANRAL says it has laid charges with the Hawks in connection with overcharging by construction companies.

13 October 2014: RNW1288: There are 104 377 licences for taxis issued between 2002 and 2014, including 26 590 in Gauteng.

November 2014: RNW2204: "SANRAL received an unqualified report with Emphasis of Matter (EOM) for 2012, 2013 and 2014. The EOM for 2012 and 2013 was as a result of the delay in the start of tolling on GFIP which created a going concern risk. In 2014 the EOM references the ability of SANRAL to collect revenue from GFIP given the uncertainty."

9 December 2014: RNW3030: As of 30 September 2014, there were 1 254 502 active e-toll accounts and 93 292 accounts de-registered; there are about 2.5 million users of GFIP per month. Cash receipts for the first 10 months of operations: R994 765 564.24 (monthly breakdown provided).

2015

March 2015: RNW226: Work packages and contractors. Work package A1 & A2: SNA/ITS & UWP/Nyeleti JV; Work package B: Gauteng  Freeway Consortium JV; Work package C: BKS; Work package D1: Aurecon; Work package D2 & D3: DCA JV; Work package E1: KAS JV; Work package E2 & E3: UWP/Nyeleti JV;  Work package F: Gauteng Freeway Consortium JV; Work package G & H: Vela VKE; Work package I: Gilooly's JV; Work package J: Vela VKE; Work package K: Asch Consulting / Vela VKE; Work package L: ANK JV.

24 March 2015: RNW580: Construction companies which had SANRAL contracts which were implicated in collusion over construction costs.

April 2015: RNW752: Who are the beneficiaries of the e-toll money and who are the collection contractors? "(a) All the toll levied at any state toll road in South Africa, including the GFIP, is paid over to SANRAL as per the SANRAL Act. These monies are utilised by SANRAL to pay all costs associated with the toll road including the servicing of debt, repayment of capital cost, maintenance requirements, operational costs, lighting and Intelligent Transport Systems and Incident Management Systems. (b) The Contractor providing electronic toll collection system is Electronic Toll Collection (Pty) Ltd a company registered in South Africa."

19 May 2015: RNW1703: GFIP stats: toll receipts actual vs forecast.

14 July 2015: RNW2495: Economic impact of the e-toll system on Gauteng: reduced travel time, vehicle operating costs, improved travel conditions.

30 July 2015: RNW2610: Effect of the "new dispensation" announced by Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa on e-toll collections (graphs only).

11 August 2015: RNW2554: Issue of whether e-toll invoices should contain the road user's VAT number.

12 August 2015: RNW2755: Economic impact of the GFIP.

12 August 2015: RNW2749: Issuing of certificates of compliance to the contractor for the Open Road Tolling, the Transaction Clearing House, and the Violation Processing Centre, and payments to the contractor up to December 2013.

3 September 2015: RNW3164: Minister says the GFIP camera equipment complies with the Trade Metrology Act / Legal Metrology Act.

26 October 2015: RNW3697: GFIP statistics: Number of road users who bought e-tags; number of active e-tags; number of motorists using GFIP roads; monthly amounts levied by the e-toll system.

3 December 2015: RNW4267: The Minister says the R5.75bn bailout of 2012 "apart from the 14% VAT, which was paid over to SARS" was all used "for the funding of the SANRAL Toll portfolio". Costs: "The Initial Construction Cost of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP) was about R20 billion. However, construction was completed in 2010 and tolling only commenced in December 2013, therefore compounded interest accumulated from 2008, start of construction, to toll commencement. SANRAL’s Weighted Average Cost of Borrowing is published in SANRAL’s Annual Report."

2016

22 February 2016: RNW3: Number of e-tag sales per month and number active.

23 February 2016: RNW2: The Minister says the R5.75bn bailout of 2012 was "apart from the 14% VAT, which was paid over to SARS" was all used "for the funding of the SANRAL Toll portfolio". Costs: "The Initial Construction Cost of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP) was about R20 billion. However, construction was completed in 2010 and tolling only commenced in December 2013, therefore compounded interest accumulated from 2008, start of construction, to toll commencement. SANRAL’s Weighted Average Cost of Borrowing is published in SANRAL’s Annual Report."

4 April 2016: RNW852: SANRAL's toll portfolio debt at 31 March 2015 was R46.4bn, for the toll road portfolio of over 3100km. It includes GFIP's 201km, which had an initial construction cost of R20bn at completion of construction in early 2011, plus interest capitalised until toll commencement in December 2013.

23 May 2016: RNW1364: SANRAL has issued summonses to 5449 individuals and 837 businesses for outstanding e-tolls, for amounts from R204.75 to R10 551 548.16.

3 June 2016: RNW1600: SANRAL's "second auction for the financial year was cancelled due to the continued unfounded comments about the GFIP including the lack of market appetite". "If SANRAL is unable to raise sufficient cash at auctions it increases a re-financing risk, repayment of maturing debt and servicing of existing debt. It also compromises continuous maintenance and operations of the toll roads across the country. Any capital projects not yet awarded will also be delayed or cancelled if the funding is depleted."

7 June 2016: RNW1643: Explanation for how the e-toll system complies with the metrology law, although the CEO of the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications has indicated that SANRAL is not in compliance.

27 September 2016: RNW1916: Approximately 2.5m vehicle registration numbers identified on GFIP in a month; 1.4m registered e-tag holders; just over 1.3m have paid their accounts; currently 2.9m accounts in the Violations Processing Centre with a balance owing (1.2m of these each owe less than R500).

27 September 2016: RNW1917: The e-toll collections. (Graph missing.) "No money is lost as the amount of Revenue which is not collected remains in debtors, therefore still collectible from the debtor... the PFMA compels all debt owed to be collected from the debtors." Number of people summonsed for outstanding accounts: 5449 individuals and 837 corporates or businesses.  "None of these matters have reached the courts yet."

27 September 2016: RNW1923: Why did the Electronic Toll Collections (ETC) BEE partner withdraw? "... this was a normal transaction where the BEE partner was exercising its right to sell its shares... the transaction has not been finalised yet... There are no costs to be incurred by SANRAL or any other Government entity. This is a private transaction between the involved parties."

21 November 2016: RNW2496: Minister of Transport: "There is no decision to cancel e-tolling which is part of the User Pay Policy... It is not true that the e-tolling of the GFIP is unsuccessful in its implementation, we need to address the issue of civil disobedience and allow law enforcement agencies to play their part."

2017

27 February 2017: RNW173: Toll accounts and concessionaires. "It is important to note that historic balances relating to transactions incurred on the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (“GFIP”), which have been transferred to the Violations Processing Centre (“VPC”), are handled independently of this registered TCH Account. Thus, none of the funds deposited into the registered TCH Account are used to clear any outstanding VPC debt. However, road users remain liable for transactions incurred on GFIP during the Grace Period (currently 30 days per the Government Gazette), and these will be deducted from the TCH Account."

6 March 2017: RNW319: The e-toll contracts.

6 March 2017: RNW324: How SANRAL views the law in terms of enforcing e-toll payments, including a query on the withholding of licences.

13 April 2017: RNW895: How increases on e-toll tariffs are calculated, and public participation.

5 June 2017: RNW1328: Compliance rates by motorists on e-toll bills. "The compliance rate for February 2017, based on rand value, was 29%." Outstanding debt for 2016/17 is still being calculated, but outstanding debt (trade receivables, for unregistered users) was R7.206bn.

5 June 2017: RNW1329: Recovery of outstanding e-toll debt "will be embarked upon once all the prescribed legal processes have been followed". The vehicle owners are liable for the debt. Both registered and non-registered users will be pursued for debt.

5 June 2017: RNW1330: Since e-tolls started on 3 December 2013, ETC has been paid R2.22bn for "full toll operations", including R528.81m paid via ETC to other service providers on the project. This is for 42 months (December 2013 to May 2017).

20 June 2017: RNW1515: From November 2016 to June 2017, 199 729 e-toll accounts were registered. On dealing with civil disobedience: "SANRAL, as the Agency responsible for National Roads and the GFIP is currently issuing civil summonses to thousands of debtors. Some of these matters are far advanced and several court cases are foreseen shortly that will clarify the legal obligation to pay toll for the GFIP toll-roads. This is an ongoing process."

10 July 2017: RNW2003: The businesses contracted to provide and maintain e-tags are named as Kapsch Trafficom AB (Sweden), which was paid R167.221m excl VAT, and Q-Free ASA (Norway), which was paid R58.318m excl VAT. The cost of printing and posting invoices for e-toll collection as per SARS and AARTO requirements was R327.391m (December 2013 to May 2017).

4 September 2017: RNW2555: The e-toll collections contract, and monthly costs and collections.

4 September 2017: RNW2556: The e-toll collections contract and renewal. Minister of Transport: "(1) The e-toll scheme is official government policy and shall continue to be implemented subject to a decision to the contrary from Cabinet. (2)  The current e-toll operations contract comes to an end in December 2019 and has an option to be extended for a further 2 years. Government will review its options and the performance of the current contractor before making a decision whether to extend the contract for such an extension or retender."

19 September 2017: RNW2692: The National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications and specifications for the e-toll system. 

19 September 2017: RNW2767: Payments to the e-toll contractor: from October 2009 to August 2017, a total of R3.840bn. It is projected the contractor will be paid R645m for 2017/18. "The current e-toll operations contract comes to an end in December 2019 and has an option to be extended for a further 2 years."

10 November 2017: RNW3422: SANRAL bridge building and public consultation.

10 November 2017: RNW3425: How toll prices are revised. "GFIP e-tolls were not adjusted in 2015; they were adjusted in 2016 and 2017."

23 November 2017: RNW3540: Number and locations of e-toll offices, number of staff and office hours.

23 November 2017: RNW3557: Minister of Transport: "The current e-toll operations contract comes to an end in December 2019 and has an option to be extended for a further two years."

2018

28 February 2018: RNW298: Gillooly's interchange.

22 March 2018: RNW675: No decision yet on the future of GFIP.

4 June 2018: RNW1524: E-toll collections by month for April 2017 to March 2018 (12 months): total of R725.82m. Costs of collection (payments to toll collector) for 2017/18 were R643m. "It should be noted these payments include the payments made to the toll operator related to the processing and clearing of all electronic toll transactions nationally (R2 770 million)."

25 September 2018: RNW2673: Number of summonses issued for outstanding e-tolls from April 2015 to August 2018 and related collections.

25 September 2018: RNW2674: List of issuing attorneys for summonses issued by SANRAL for e-tolls.

8 November 2018: RNW3041: E-toll forecast and actual income since December 2013, number of e-tags, costs of summonses. E-toll debtors have increased from R951m in 2014 to R10.840bn in 2018.

5 December 2018: RNW3489: Total e-toll transactions per month (December 2013 to August 2018), total paid transactions and percentage of transactions which were paid (ie compliance) (ranges from 27% to 43%; the last three months were 27%). Total actual income was R4 140 157 235 (R4.140bn). "The toll operator is compensated in terms of their tendered rates for services provided under the contract and does not receive a share of the toll revenue."

6 December 2018: RNW3411: Freeway Management Services has 63 vehicles provided on the GFIP (beakdown of vehicle types).

2019

11 March 2019: RNW183: R5.7bn was moved from non-toll roads to GFIP in the Department of Transport budget in the MTBPS of October 2018, to cover debt payments. SANRAL's full debt is R47bn.

10 April 2019: RNW681: The length of ETC's three contracts (Open Road Tolling, Transaction Clearing House, and Violation Processing Centre) were changed, so all three are now six years (from 3 December 2013).

6 August 2019: RNW307: GFIP and the R5.75bn allocation of 2018/19, and the SANRAL loans.

9 October 2019: RNW934: As at 31 March 2019, SANRAL had R39.5bn of debt guaranteed by national government.

25 November 2019: RNW1401: Minister of Finance: "Borrowing for toll roads are done on the basis that there is a revenue stream to finance the debt. A significant portion of the South African National Roads Agency's existing debt was to finance the upgrade of roads on GFIP and it requires a revenue stream to finance it, so e-tolls cannot be abolished without a revenue stream to finance existing commitments."

2020

11 August 2020: RNW1733: SANRAL loans.

11 August 2020: RNW1734: SANRAL has 11 toll roads, with all except the GFIP self-funding. The GFIP operating cost shortfall over the past three years was R263m. 

26 August 2020: RNW1023: Department of Transport has started exploratory work towards a Public Transport Mobility Account that will operate with an Integrated Ticketing System based on a cashless system. SANRAL is being engaged to be a lead agency on this.

3 September 2020: RNW1591: R2.53bn transferred to GFIP in the Adjustment Budget (MTBPS) 2020, to cover shortfall in e-toll revenue and service debt.

2021

30 March 2021: RCW139: Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula says he submitted a proposed solution on the e-toll impasse to Cabinet in November 2019. The initial submission had seven options; this was later reduced to one option. The Department of Transport is "still awaiting for that decision". "The timeline was set for March 2021, however due to severe Covid 19 lockdown this timeline is unlikely to be achieved. We have no doubt that Cabinet will fast track discussions to conclude on this matter."

29 June 2021: RNW1634: Minister of Transport Mbalula was asked what measures were taken to ensure a sustainable solution to the e-toll challenges: "SANRAL participated in the Technical Task Team, led by the Director-General of Transport, to present various options to the Ministerial Committee, which was led by the President and included the Ministers of Finance and Transport as well as the Premier of Gauteng. The Technical Task Team concluded their work some time before lockdown in 2020. The decision is now in the hands of Cabinet. In the meantime, SANRAL has to continue to operate within existing financial constraints and in line with National Treasury budget approval."

28 September 2021: RNW2196: Minister of Transport Mbalula says a date for a decision on e-tolls "cannot be determined at this stage" and that discussions on funding options continue. "The delay on the announcement is that the process to pronounce on the future of the e-toll take time as the two Ministers (Transport and Finance) had to first meet and in their meeting they agreed that further studies be conducted to inform the decision to be made. It is important to note that the Department is committed to finding a workable solution that does not ‘drown the country in debt’ but is equally sensitive to the public’s issues and once it is clear on the sustainable model, a submission will then be made for Cabinet final decision," said Mbalula in the reply.

10 December 2021: RNW2295: Minister of Transport Mbalula says SANRAL has paid Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) R1.711 million excluding VAT for the development of an account-based ticketing (ABT) module as part of SANRAL's transaction clearing house system, to enable pilot projects at selected cities. The project is still in the development stage.

2022

2 March 2022: RNW147: Minister of Transport Mbalula says the ministry has paid R47 500 in e-toll fees from May 2019 to October 2021 for the official vehicles for himself and the deputy minister.

2023

23 February 2023: RNW57: Minister of Transport Mbalula says National Treasury will bear 70% of the GFIP debt costs and Gauteng will bear 30%, but avoided answering a question on "who will be held accountable" for the failed scheme. 

4 October 2023: RCW647: Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana says the e-toll gantries will be turned off "once a binding agreements is signed between the Gauteng Provincial Government and National Government on the provinces financial commitments to paying off the debt, its contribution to the backlog maintenance on the network and the administrative costs associated with the recovery of tolls from defaulting users". Gauteng is to pay 30% of the outstanding debt as at 31 October 2022, over a maximum of five years. Outstanding issues are provincial funding for backlog maintenance and rehabilitation, and "clarity on the province's position and the costs associated with recovering funds from defaulting road users who have not paid tolls while the system was operational".

2024

9 April 2024: RNW730: Minister of Transport Sindisiwe Chikunga says: "SANRAL's going concern is linked with the e-toll resolution. There were cash injections from National Treasury to assist with settling bonds when they become due. SANRAL will be able to settle the 07 December 2024 bond of about R5.6 billion."

16 May 2024: RCW106: Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana says the agreement referred to in reply RCW647 (above) was signed between the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Transport and the Gauteng Premier on 28 March 2024, and referred questions on provincial funding sources to the Gauteng provincial government. "Administrative costs associated with the recovery of tolls from the defaulters are not yet determined and is part of a broader ongoing discussion on various options that are being considered and this will be communicated once a decision is taken and approved by the relevant authorities," said the Minister in the reply.

1 November 2024: RNW1307: Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy says that in terms of the March 2024 agreement between National Treasury and Gauteng, government will settle "all historic debt of SANRAL", Gauteng will contribute 30% and national government 70%, and Gauteng will contribute to backlog road maintenance as a result of the cancellation of e-tolling.

Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP): What you need to know

2010. SANRAL.

An Economic Analysis of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Scheme

August 2010. Barry Standish and Antony Boting, prepared for the Gauteng provincial government and SANRAL.​

An assessment of the South African Government's Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP) Toll Road Strategy

November 2011. Cassandra C Gabriel. University of South Africa.​

Increasing transparency and improving project management: South Africa's National Roads Agency, 1998-2011

2011. Richard Bennet. Innovations for Successful Societies. Princeton University.

Gauteng Toll Roads: An Overview of Issues and Perspectives

2012. PA Pienaar. University of Pretoria.​

Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project and Open Road Tolling

March 2013. Alex van Niekerk. SANRAL.

Analysing the Implementation Process of Open Road Tolling in Gauteng

December 2013. Ashley Netshidzati. University of Johannesburg.

The impact of the proposed Gauteng freeway tolling scheme on Gauteng municipalities

December 2013. South African Local Government Association (SALGA).

The socio-economic impact of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project and E-tolls Report

30 November 2014. This is the report of the Advisory Panel appointed by Gauteng Premier David Makhura.

The short term economic impact of levying e-tolls on industries

April 2015. Francois J Stofberg and Jan H van Heerden. Economic Research Southern Africa.

Mega project analysis: A case study of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project

March 2015. Thesis by Philip Parrock towards a Master of Arts degree at Stellenbosch University.

The E-Toll Saga: A journey from CEO to civil activist

June 2015. Wayne Duvenage with Angelique Serrao.

An investigation into the impact of e-tolls in the Gauteng province of South Africa: an SME perspective

December 2015. Leanne Lauren Manley and Melanie Gopaul.

Critical factors in respect of managing the e-toll road project in Gauteng, South Africa

2016. NS Matsiliza. Cape Peninsula University of Technology.

The impediments to efficient megaproject implementation in South Africa

September 2016. Nthatisi Khatleli. Proceedings of the 32nd annual ARCOM conference. September 2016. Manchester, UK.

The effect of opinion expression from stakeholders on the e-toll project

January 2019. Collins Kwadi. A minor dissertation towards a Master of Engineering degree at the University of Johannesburg.

Road Funding Report

July 2019. Automobile Association of South Africa (AA).

Motorists attitudes towards implementation of e-tolls in Gauteng province, South Africa

1 January 2020. K Mosala. Vaal University of Technology.

Fashioning an integrated transport system for the Gauteng City-Region

31 January 2020. Selected speeches and statements (2010-2019) by Dr Ismail Vadi, former Gauteng MEC for Roads and Transport.​

  SANRAL's map of the GFIP gantries