E‑Toll shutdown marks victory for motorists after years of opposition

E‑Toll

Cape Town – Cabinet has approved a plan by the South African National Roads Agency to formally shut down the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP) e-toll system, ending one of South Africa’s most controversial road funding schemes.

The decision includes writing off outstanding e-toll debt owed by motorists, resolving remaining legal disputes, and closing all matters related to the collection of e-toll fees.

The e-toll system was officially discontinued on 12 April 2024.

Speaking after a Cabinet meeting, Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said: “Cabinet noted the recommendations by SANRAL to write off debt owed by road users who did not pay, and that National Treasury would service this debt, and that the road users who paid toll fees would not be refunded because this was the law at the time,” Ntshavheni said on Friday.

Cabinet also approved the resolution of litigation involving Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse, which led public opposition to the e-toll system for more than a decade.

The move means motorists with unpaid e-toll accounts will not have to settle their debts, while those who paid will not receive refunds. Government said those payments were made under the legal framework that existed at the time.

National Treasury will now take responsibility for servicing the remaining debt linked to the project.

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