The South African government indicated on Thursday that the implementation of the controversial Gauteng toll roads was likely within the coming five months.

The timeframe emerged at an infrastructure development cluster briefing addressed by Transport Minister Sibusiso Ndebele and Energy Minister Dipuo Peters, at which Ndebele again reiterated that the toll system was a "done deal".

It was noted that the South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) had indicated that it would be in a position to implement in the next five months, following Cabinet's recent approval of the fees to be charged to motorists, motorcyclists and hauliers, as well as the decision to exempt certified taxis and buses.

However, a number of stakeholders, including the powerful Congress of South African Trade Unions, continue to object to the tolling scheme, and what has been described as inadequate consultation on the fees and on the scheme's implementation.

Both Ministers also offered a spirited defence of the user-pays principle, saying that, while there was resistance to such a principle in the water, transport and electricity sectors, it was nevertheless widely applied.

Ndebele even offered a defence of road tolling itself, noting that countries the world over, including China, had deployed such systems.

But he also reiterated that there would be further consultation and study before approving tolling on further Sanral roads, including the proposed extension of the N2 connecting KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape, as well as the proposed Winelands toll road, in the Western Cape.

Government had "no preconceived" notions on how these roads should be funded. But if they had merit, an equitable way should be found to finance them, including possibly through the application of the user-pays principle.

The Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project toll tariffs are set at 24c/km for motorcycles, 40c/km for cars, R1/km for medium trucks and R2/km for heavy trucks. Qualifying taxis and buses would be exempted.

These rates are based on a vehicle using an etag and did not include other discounts, such as frequent user and off-peak discounts.