The e-tolling system is complete and is expected to be fully operatioal by the end of the year, says the South African parastatal responsible for the management, maintenance and development of South Africa’s national road network, the South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral).

Sanral GM of communications Vusi Mona says the delay in implementing the e-toll system, though financially costly, has enabled the testing of the system and, as a result, Sanral is ready to roll out e-tolling.

Minister of Transport Dipou Peters has published the regulations and issued a notice regarding the tariffs. Having provided 30 days for public comment, the Minister will apply her mind to the matter and publish the final tariffs. Thereafter, e-tolling will start, says Mona.

Following President Jacob Zuma’s signing of the Transport Laws and Related Matters Amendment Bill into law in September, Mona says, the agency is going ahead with the project, adding that it is “unfortunate that there have been lies, misinformation and distortion about the project owing to the politicisation of a purely infrastructural matter”.

The signing took place on the same day that the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in Bloemfontein, in the Free State, was hearing arguments by the Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance (Outa) to stop e-tolling in Gauteng.

Outa told the court that legislation enabled Sanral to explore options other than tolling to fund Gauteng’s freeways.

The SCA also heard that Sanral should, therefore, have kept an open mind about the matter, despite Cabinet’s approval of e-tolling.

According to Outa’s website, funding of the project would have an impact on taxpayers. The alliance also states that there is no effective and reliable public transport system, or viable alternative routes for the public to use.

Alternative models of funding, such as by the National Treasury and through fuel levies, long-distance toll roads and vehicle licence fees, are less expensive and more efficient funding processes, according to the Outa website.

Further, e-tolling has been challenged by political parties and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu).

Mona explains that tolling is a government policy and Sanral is the implementing age-ncy, adding that it is required to implement the policies of the government of the day, and not the wishes or ideas of civil society groups.

“We can consult civil society on how best to execute a government policy or decision, but it is not within our power to change the policy or decision,” he says.

Mona adds that the project was first conceptualised by Gauteng in 1996, which was followed in 1998 by the Gauteng Toll Road Strategy.

In 2006, the Gauteng transport intergration process, which included Sanral as a participant, produced a proposal for a Gauteng Freeway Improvement Scheme. The scheme espoused the ‘user pays’ principle based a toll scheme with an electronic recording of tolls payable.

The project had been tabled before and approved by Cabinet in 2007 with confirmation that the project would be under- taken by Sanral.

Former Transport Minister Jeff Radebe launched the project in 2008 together with Sanral CEO Nazir Alli.

Engineering News reported in September that e-tolling was suspended on April 28, 2012, pending a full review; however, the Constitutional Court set aside the interdict preventing Sanral from tolling some of Gauteng’s highways.

In December 2012, the full review on the matter was heard by the North Gauteng High Court, in Pretoria, and Outa lost the case.

South Africa is subject to high fiscal demands in terms of health, education and social grants, besides others,