Mr Chair, the South African National Roads Agency Limited, Sanral, and Transport Minister, S'bu Ndebele, have made announcements regarding the implementation of the tolling of various roads countrywide without proper public participation. These toll costs will act as a regressive tax that will hit the poor disproportionately. It is therefore necessary for all communities to be properly consulted about the effects of these toll roads.
The DA has for many years requested the Department of Transport to increase the grant funds for Sanral so that they can avoid having to take this kind of action. Borrowed money needs to be paid back, and the lack of grant funding over the past 10 years has seen an unavoidable increase in the number of toll roads in our country. This represents a form of excessive taxation, as the fuel levy, vehicle licensing and emission taxes, value- added tax, VAT, toll costs and banking charges involved in the e-tagging system all tax the transport system and its users.
The DA proposes that the following be considered: renegotiating the term of loans, reducing the monthly repayments, considering VAT exemption on all toll fees, investigating the phasing in of revenue from fuel levies accruing to the provinces to offset the current loans, exempting all public transporters using toll roads from toll fees, and sourcing capital from current budgets in the Department of Transport and the provinces' unspent capital budgets to redeem the loans.
These interventions and others that are produced during a proper public participation process should be considered as an alternative to increasing the economic burden that toll roads will impose on ordinary South Africans. Thank you, Chair.