So what were OUTA’s findings and why do they have people so riled up?
Based on transport minister Joe Maswanganyi recent statements to Parliament, OUTA says that it calculated that the Austrian company collecting fees has received 74% of e-toll earnings.
This means that the company, ETC, has been paid R2.2bn of the R2.9bn collected since December 2013.
“This is a clear indication of how irrational the scheme has become and what makes matters worse is the compliance levels continue to decline year on year. At an average of R55m per month paid to ETC, and with the current e-toll income levels at around R63m per month, virtually no money is going toward the e-toll bonds,” OUTA said in a statement.
Fewer drivers are paying their e-toll accounts, meaning that income will decrease while the costs continue. Furthermore, Sanral – the very company highway and maintenance debts are owed to – is actually seeing very little of the toll income.
“Sanral will still be owed around R9.2bn as of the end of March 2017. OUTA believes that Sanral will not be able to collect a meaningful portion of this debt, regardless of litigation outcomes going forward,” the organisation said.
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