TRANSPORT Minister Dipuo Peters told Parliament that the South African National Roads Agency had just over 1.4-million registered e-tag account holders, though that is dwarfed by the more than 2.9-million accounts that are in arrears.
The system has encountered strong resistance from civil society groups.
These include Outa, which eventually became known as the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse, and which challenged the system unsuccessfully in court.
Despite widespread criticism of e-tolls — with even the ANC in Gauteng rejecting the system in its current form — the national Department of Transport has persisted with using the tolls to finance the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project.
Peters sent a written reply to a question from DA MP Manny de Freitas saying that of the 2.5-million registered vehicles on the GFIP network in a month, 1.4-million were identified as registered e-tag account holders and 1.3-million were paying their tolls.
"Currently … there are just over 2.9-million accounts with a balance owing. However, 1.2-million owe less than R500 each as at the middle of August," Peters said.
Responding to De Freitas in a separate question on e-tolls, Peters said the Department of Transport had every intention of collecting the tolls due from defaulting road users in Gauteng.
"No money is lost as the amount of revenue which is not collected remains in debtors, and therefore still collectible from the debtor.
"I also bring to the attention of the honourable member that the PFMA [Public Finance Management Act] compels all debt owed to be collected from the debtors," she said.
Peters said none of the cases of motorists defaulting or refusing to pay their tolls had made their way to the courts yet.
Replying to yet another question on e-tolls from the DA’s Winston Rabotapi, Peters said the department’s e-Natis system was capable of identifying and tracing road users who did not pay their tolls.
"If the information for a vehicle owner is accurate on e-Natis, a vehicle owner may not refuse that the information is made available to Sanral. It is available in terms of the law and there is a legal requirement that users must ensure that their latest information is reflected on the Natis system," she said.
Peters referred to the refusal to pay e-tolls as "a white-collar crime … a crime nevertheless".
The uncertainty caused by the rejection of the e-toll system has also had a negative impact on Sanral’s ability to auction its bonds on more than one occasion.
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