Will Limpopo roads be tolled?

The handing over of more than 1 600km of Limpopo provincial roads to the South African National Roads Agency Ltd (Sanral) could result in more tolling in our provinces.

This week Sanral confirmed to Business Day that in April 1 600 km of Limpopo roads will be transferred to Sanral, extending its responsibility to an estimated 21 304km. Sanral currently manages a national road network of approximately 19 670km.

Giving Sanral a larger portion of South Africa's road network to manage is problematic because not only is the entity cash-strapped, but National Treasury has maintained that it would not allocate any further funding to it.

Since they will have no access to the provincial road grants, in order repair and maintain the additional road network assigned to it, Sanral would have to raise its own funding.  

This raises genuine concerns that an already cash-strapped Sanral is going to be forced to pass the burden onto South Africans. We cannot let this happen.

The DA will write to Sanral CEO Nazir Alli to ascertain how he intends to raise funding for the additional road networks assigned to Sanral and whether any tolling in Limpopo is under consideration in order to fund the additional maintenance. If not, how do they plan to finance the management of these new roads?

I will also submit parliamentary questions to the Minister of Transport, Dipuo Peters, in order to ascertain how Sanral is expected to fund the maintenance of additional road networks.

Last year Sanral and the Department of Transport hinted that more toll roads and e-tolls were being considered elsewhere in the country. Nazir Alli revealed that as part of Sanral's 2012/13 Strategic Plan, the entity is considering building new toll-roads in the following areas: 

N3 Durban to Pietermaritzburg;

N12 Kimberley to Johannesburg;

N1 Ring road at Musina;

N1 Kroonstad to Winburg; and 

N1 Botlokwa Interchange and pedestrian facilities.

The DA has been fighting e-tolling in Gauteng and will do so anywhere else in the country. We successfully halted e-tolls in the Western Cape, and will do so anywhere else we are elected to govern.

A vote for the DA in the upcoming elections, is a vote against e-tolling.

Statement issued by Ian Ollis MP, DA Shadow Minister of Transport, February 16 2014

Click here to sign up to receive our free daily headline email newsletter