Government2.04.2014

E-toll collection costs tens of millions: DA

The DA notes that it has cost the Department of Transport in excess of R50 million to collect debt generated by the e-toll system since its implementation in December.

The political party said it received replies to two parliamentary questions in which the Minister of Transport, Dipuo Peters, admitted that while almost half a billion rand in e-tolling invoices was meant to be collected from motorists, only 9% of that amount was actually recovered.

“This means the people of Gauteng are effectively rejecting e-tolls in their numbers,” the DA said.

The minister revealed that R544 million worth of invoices were transferred to the Violations Processing Centre, while only 9.21% of the total value of transactions has been recovered since the project’s commencement.

“Furthermore, it costs the Department of Transport over R50 million just to collect debt generated by this system from the people of Gauteng,” the DA said.

“The reply states that R54,735,638 has been spent collecting debt as of 1 March 2014. This includes R32,782,580 for postage and printing of invoices and the cost of the actual collection process which is R21,953,058,” the party said.

“The minister’s reply reveals clearly that South Africans do not want e-tolls and they are not paying for them. It also reveals the costs of the administrative nightmare that has been debt-collecting over the past couple of months,” said Ian Ollis MP, DA Shadow Minister of Transport.

The DA maintained that e-tolling will be disastrous to the economy and people of Gauteng.

“The DA will continue to put an end to e-tolls and if we win Gauteng after these upcoming elections, we will action our commitment to end this burdensome, and job-killing, system imposed on our people,” Ollis said.