The Department of Transport (DoT) welcomes Cabinet's approval of State-owned South African National Roads Agency Limited’s (Sanral’s) plans to close the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP) e-toll historical debt, which also sees the resolution of all outstanding litigation matters.

The closure of the GFIP e-toll debt is intended to provide certainty, resolve historical debt matters and support a sustainable approach to the funding, maintenance and improvement of South Africa’s national road network.

With Cabinet’s approval secured, outstanding and unpaid historical GFIP e-toll debt owed by road users will be written off and Sanral will not pursue any further collection of historical GFIP e-toll debt.

However, road users who lawfully paid e-tolls while the system was legally in force will not be refunded, as they were lawful levies at the time they were paid before the toll declarations were withdrawn on April 11, 2024.

Transport Minister Barbara Creecy and Deputy Minister Mkhuleko Hlengwa say the decision is a long-awaited step to close the GFIP e-toll matter in an orderly and responsible manner.

The decision brings much-needed relief and lessens the financial burden on road users who are currently hard-pressed by high fuel costs, they aver.

The write-off of outstanding debt gives effect to government’s decision to close the GFIP e-toll scheme and provide finality to road users, Sanral and the fiscus.

“The user-pays principle remains an important part of South Africa’s road infrastructure funding framework where it is broadly accepted by road users through negotiation and agreement, appropriately structured, legally sound and supported by clear policy certainty,” the department notes.