Thirty-one per cent of Gauteng roads are in a poor or very poor condition, provincial transport MEC Ismail Vadi said on Tuesday.

"The assessment for 2010 shows that out of the total extent of the provincial paved road network of 4 248 kilometres, 9%of our roads is in a very good condition; 27% is in good condition; 33% is in a fair condition; 20% is in poor condition; and 11%is in a very poor condition," he said, according to his budget address delivered at the Gauteng Legislature.

"These statistics are disturbing as the international benchmark is that a country's road network should not have more than 10% in a poor and very poor condition; provincially we are now at 31%."

Vadi said his department allocated R1.2-billion to fixing and maintaining road infrastructure.

Two years ago, only 15% of the province's roads were in a poor and very poor condition.

"The asset value associated with the current condition of the network is approximately R39-billion.

"If we had maintained our road network at the 'very good' condition level, its asset value would have been R51-billion; so we have witnessed a net asset loss of 23.5%in less than five years."

Traffic volumes on the roads were heavy with 66-million vehicle kilometres – the total distance travelled by all vehicles in one day – on the roads in the province.

"Over half of the provincial roads in Gauteng carry more than 5000 vehicles per day and 38%of the roads carry more than 10 000 cars per day," he said.

"We must act quickly and decisively to preserve our road network."

The department had decided to focus on repairing, maintaining and rehabilitating roads in the province, instead of building new ones.

The department's budget allocation for the year stood at R6.2-billion, or 9% of the province's budget.

On the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project, Vadi said the process of re-looking the toll tariffs was well underway, with a steering committee recommending that the tariffs be slashed by 20%

The final decision on the tariffs would be taken by Transport Minister S'bu Ndebele and Gauteng premier Nomvula Mokonyane.

"Two further steps, however, need to be taken. Firstly, a decision must be taken in respect of the remaining phases of the GFIP. Should we proceed with these phases? Secondly, these phases are presumably based on the user-pay principle.

"If this principle is to be reviewed, the question must be posed: How do we fund the next phases of the GFIP, given the limited fiscal resources at our disposal and the competing demands on the fiscus?"

The department would initiate "proper, public consultative processes" on the implementation of any further phases of the GFIP, he said.

A large chunk of the budget was allocated to the Gautrain – just under R2.2-billion.

Addressing recent reports on Gautrain's "patronage guarantee", Vadi said the guarantee was not intended to cover a potential shortfall of passengers, rather it was a "mechanism by which the concessionaire could be assured of covering its minimum operating costs.

"Gautrain was approved by National Treasury in 2006 as a Public Private Partnership (PPP) Project. A 'patronage guarantee' formed part of the Project and the accepted financial model and has been public information since the signing of the Concession Agreement in 2006," he said.