It was unlikely that the R20-billion debt incurred to build the first phase of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP) would be recovered through an increase in the fuel levy, rather than tolling the 185 km of freeway, said Deputy Transport Minister Jeremy Cronin on Monday.

“I don’t want to pre-empt the announcement by [Transport] Minister [Sibusiso] Ndebele, but I doubt e-tolling will be scrapped – at least for phase 1A of the GFIP.

“I’m afraid the phase 1A horse has bolted. The clock is ticking and we have an enormous debt to repay.”

The GFIP toll fee structure, as put forward by South African National Roads Agency Limited in February, was currently the subject of a government review following a public outcry over the costs to use the upgraded roads.

Speaking at the Southern African Transport Conference held in Pretoria, Cronin said there had been strong support, especially from the business sector, to fund the multibillion-rand Gauteng toll road project through a ring-fenced increase in the fuel levy, instead of through charging toll fees.

The fuel levy currently flowed into government’s general income stream.

However, Cronin said there were several reasons why government was not eager to hike the fuel levy to pay for the freeway programme.

He noted that National Treasury was opposed to ring-fencing tax revenues, as it led to inefficient government spending. Also, the diesel fuel tax rebate, valid for sectors such as fishing and agriculture, meant that “a large sum of the fuel revenue was already committed”.

Cronin added that the amount raised through the fuel levy was around R20-billion in the 2009/10 financial year, but that government expenditure on road infrastructure reached around R29.2-billion over the same period.

“The amount we spend on our road infrastructure and our fuel levy income do not balance out.”

Cronin also questioned whether government would want to spend an increase on the fuel levy – if then ring-fenced for transport needs – on roads, and not rather on strengthening rail and bus systems.

“Should we not also rather spend money on the source of our transport problems – namely the urban sprawl you see along the highways,” he added.

Cronin also asked why “a taxi driver in Lusikisiki” should pay an increase in the fuel levy to benefit drivers in Gauteng.

However, Cronin did consider that “the anger” generated by the GFIP toll scheme was “too good to waste”.

“We have to have some serious discussions around our strategies and priorities when it comes to infrastructure spending. There are more GFIP phases waiting to come out of the gate.”

Cronin also noted that only 2% of the traffic on the 185 km GFIP were public transport vehicles.

He said the toll scheme might actually serve to frustrate public transport users, as vehicles steering clear of the highways to avoid paying toll fees could clog up secondary roads.