Sanral planning huge capital projects, says user-pay principle necessary
In light of South Africa’s need for well-maintained roads to promote the economy, social cohesion and a prosperous society, the South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) has planned several huge capital projects for the 2014/15 financial year, CEO Nazir Alli said in a statement on Tuesday.
Looking ahead to the challenges of a growing demand for better roads, constrained financial resources and a growing backlog, Alli added that the public purse could not be relied on to finance the 15% of South Africa’s roads that were currently not funded through tax-based revenues.
Therefore, there was a need for the user-pay principle, he said.
“It is an equitable way to ensure the supply of economic infrastructure. [Its] charges directly reflect use of the tolled roads in a way that taxation or a fuel levy cannot, [and] we can use technology to target those users, such as public transport and emergency services, which should be exempt from the payment of tolls,” Alli noted.
Further, he urged South Africans to respect the judiciary, pointing out that the Supreme Court of Appeal, along with the high courts of North Gauteng and the Western Cape, had ruled in favour of Sanral, vindicating the agency’s use of the user-pay principle and confirming that Sanral had acted lawfully.
Alli stated that the actions of those who were delaying the implementation of the Wild Coast and Winelands projects in the Eastern and Western Cape were “regrettable”.
“It is unfortunate that those delaying the Wild Coast project do not see the link with the . . . [easing of] the deepening poverty in the areas which the road is intended to traverse,” he commented.
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