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Media reports this week indicate that the South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL) and Transport Minister, Sbu Ndebele, have made final decisions on the tolling of various roads throughout the country without proper public participation. This is the same approach that was unsuccessfully followed with the implementation of the Gauteng toll road system.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) will continue opposing the implementation of toll roads for two primary reasons:
Firstly, the decision-making process has been shrouded in secrecy and excludes proper public participation. Toll roads will have serious implications for all communities in their proximity as it will drive up the cost of transportation and therefore constrain economic growth. These toll costs will act as a regressive tax that will hit the poor disproportionately. It is therefore necessary for all communities to be properly consulted about the effects of these toll roads. I will be submitting several parliamentary questions to the Minister of Transport to determine exactly how the decisions about the recently announced toll roads were made, and why these decisions were made without the necessary consultation.
Secondly, the DA questions the necessity of these toll roads as a means to finance SANRAL. The DA has for many years through the budget debates requested the Department of Transport to increase the grant funds to SANRAL so that they could avoid having to take this kind of action. Borrowed money needs to be paid back and the lack of grant funding over the last 10 years has seen an avoidable increase in the number of toll roads in our country. This represents a form of excessive taxation, as the fuel levy, vehicle licensing and emission taxes, VAT, toll costs and the banking charges involved in the e-tagging system all tax the transport system and its users. Furthermore, SANRAL and the Department of Transport should be held accountable for their inability to manage their current operations in a sustainable manner. These toll roads are a direct result of the financial challenges currently being experienced by SANRAL, which in effect means that motorists will be paying for SANRAL and the Department of Transport’s inability to manage their finances. This is not an appropriate solution to the problem, as it does not address the core, structural problems in SANRAL.
The DA proposes that the following be considered in respect of SANRAL loans:

• Renegotiate the term of the loans to reduce monthly repayments. 
• Consider VAT exemption on toll fees. 
• Investigate the phasing in of revenue from fuel levies accruing to the provinces to offset the current loans. 
• Exempt all public transporters using the toll roads from toll fees. 
• Source capital from current budgets of the Department of Transport and the provinces’ unspent capital budgets to redeem the loans.
These interventions, and others that are produced during a proper public participation process, should be considered as an alternative to increasing the economic burden that toll roads will impose on ordinary South Africans.