Toll roads issue up for 're-discussion'

(Image: GCIS)

Answering questions during a press briefing in Parliament on Tuesday, Ndebele said: "Never again shall we have a city or provincial government taking a decision of (such) monumental or national consequences."

Ndebele was referring to the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP) that Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan had to make a surprise allocation to of R5.8bn to shore up the R20bn debt the project had run up.

Ndebele said: "We have taken money from the fiscus, which is not money taken from the back pocket of the minister of finance, but taken from other programmes, while at the same time we must be careful that we do not rob Peter to pay Paul."

Strong opposition

The GFIP is due to become operational from 30 April, but a number of organisations have come out strongly opposed to it. This included labour movement Cosatu who have called for strikes and the Automobile Association of SA that has threatened legal action.

Ndebele said that future road upgrade programs would probably be downgraded in expectations "... as not every road needs to be a New York road."

Ndebele said the GFIP was a proposal from the Gauteng provincial government to national government that began in 2006 and it was always envisaged as a toll road.

He said that since it was only national government that could toll roads, part of the process was to transfer the N1 and N2 roads from provincial to national control.

'Lot of stress'

"There was a lot of stress that the road would not be ready in time for the 2010 Soccer World Cup," he said.

Ndebele then said that the problem had been in the actual implementation of the GFIP.

"We (government) are not quarrelling with the need for the GFIP. We are quarrelling with the post 2009-politics with the agitation against the project four years after its implementation," he said.

Ndebele remained adamant that the GFIP was needed and that the second phase would be implemented.

However, he said that any further e-tolling proposals would have to be properly discussed so that users understood the implementations and this included the second phase of the GFIP and the proposed Cape Winelands Toll Road.