Gauteng Tolls as complex as Income Tax says DA

The South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL) has at long last published the quanta of the unpopular tolls to be charged for various classes of vehicles along the 185 km Gauteng Freeway System, amid much fanfare (see here - PDF)..

Many adverts by SANRAL preceded the launch of these fees proclaiming that the tolls would be levied on a user pays principle but, reading between the complicated double-page adverts placed by SANRAL which lay out the applicable charges, the person who uses the roads least will pay the most. The person who finds him or herself on the freeway, perhaps by accident , will pay the most. Everyone else, it seems, except those too lazy to obtain an e-tag, qualifies for some form of discount which will be calculated after the event by a computer system.

With the current billing chaos resulting mainly from the flawed Johannesburg computer system, not forgetting similar problems with the Ekurhuleni and Tshwane systems last year, yet another area of concern is being created with this system due to its complexity. Taxes are meant to be transparent and simple to understand, and a toll is just another tax . This one however is so complicated that mistakes are bound to creep in.

While I am not in favour of these tolls being levied at all because of the lack of affordable, reliable, safe, punctual and widespread public transport alternatives, I am in favour of any decrease in the high cost of these tolls but why do we have to make the simple act of tolling the highways as complicated as completing a SARS provisional tax return?

It would also be interesting to find out when the stakeholders such as the South African Shippers Council, the Road Freight Association and the public were consulted regarding the affordability of these tolls.

Statement issued by Neil Campbell, MPL, DA Spokesperson on Roads and Transport in Gauteng, February 7 2011

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