Gauteng road users are breathing a sigh of relief as e-tolls are officially scrapped. As of midnight on Thursday, road users will no longer be charged for the use of the e-toll network.
Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga, who made the announcement about the scrapping of e-tolls earlier this week, says motorists will still be liable for what they owe.
E-tolls were introduced in 2013 as part of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project. The system faced open defiance from motorists and civil society organisations, who refused to pay their e-toll fees.
[LIVE UPDATE] The Live Switching Off Of E-Tolls In Gauteng https://t.co/pCZDT7KYy7
— Department of Transport (@Dotransport) April 11, 2024
E-toll debt
Meanwhile, the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) has added its voice to calls for motorists to refrain from paying their outstanding e-toll debt.
OUTA’s head of legal Stephanie Fick says, “Don’t pay your e-toll debt, if you were convinced right from the start that you’re not going to pay your e-toll debt, I don’t know why you would do that now. The historic debt is how they’re going to enforce it, so that’s the problem. So in our view, that’s a theory.”
