Sanral sets Outa straight on toll collection claims

12th June 2017

By: Natasha Odendaal

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

     

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The South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) on Monday hit back at the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa), saying that renewed allegations that the income received from motorists using Gauteng’s tolled freeways were mostly pocketed by Austrian-owned e-toll collection company ETC are skewed and inaccurate.

Outa on Monday said that R2.2-billion, or 74%, of an Outa-estimated R2.9-billion in aggregate e-toll income collected between December 2013 and March 2017 had been paid to a foreign operator.

“Statements made that revenue has or will leave the country have been addressed many times in the past. ETC is a South African company,” Sanral spokesperson Vusa Mona said.

“All operational costs are paid within South Africa; costs such as employee costs, administration costs, communication costs, banking fees, facilities, rates and taxes. All these are paid in the country to local service providers,” Mona reiterated, assuring that, only if a profit was made, could currency leave South African shores in line with South African Reserve Bank requirements and tax regulations.

“This is the case with any foreign company doing business in South Africa.”

The renewed spat followed accusations by Outa chairperson Wayne Duvenage that an average of R55-million a month is paid to ETC out of the current e-toll income levels of R63-million a month, which he claimed left little aside for bond payments.

However, Sanral disputed Outa’s calculations and viewpoints, saying that the toll operations company does not get a percentage of the toll revenue collected but is compensated in terms of a tendered schedule of rates for services delivered.

Further, the roads agency dismissed claims that “virtually no money is going toward the e-toll bonds and that Sanral bond auctions are not attracting any investors”, assuring stakeholders that its last bond auction in 2016 secured total bids of more than R1.7-billion, well above the target of R500-million.

Sanral’s next bond auction will be held on June 21.

The roads agency also slammed Outa’s unlawful impediment of toll collection.

“Outa’s current campaign is based on encouraging road users to break the law. This is unlawful and Sanral is confident that the current matters before the courts will find this to be the case. Road users follow Outa’s advice at their peril,” Mona warned.

Despite all Outa’s efforts in the past, the courts have found that the project was implemented legally.

“For the last four years, commuters in Gauteng have reaped the benefits of this project and while we may continue to disagree on many things surrounding the project, the one thing I think we can all agree on is that it has already helped to improve the lives of Gauteng citizens, and that, we must not forget, was the entire point of this exercise,” Mona pointed out.

Further, with insufficient funding available to Sanral, phases two and three, which were meant to boost capacity once the current upgraded freeways reached their capacity within the next three to five years, are unlikely to be implemented, he held.

The project is a three-phase project based on the user-pay principle to fast-track the much-needed initial existing freeway upgrades and fund new freeways.

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

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