Aha, the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project! I am the DA spokesperson on transport and I happen to live in Gauteng. So, this Bill affects me personally. While the DA will not object to the appropriation of R5,8 billion for the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project, we must place on record our objection in the strongest terms to the way in which this entire project was undertaken. [Interjections.] Our objection rests not with the concept of toll roads per se, or even with the user-pays principle, but with three key aspects of this programme: the financial structure and funding model, the public participation process, and the costly and inefficient collection system.
Firstly, the financial structure of this project was not tabled as part of the initial proposals. It only became clear much later on that Sanral was building extremely expensive freeways and that the payments were going to be extremely burdensome on commuters and the taxpayer. The Minister of Finance, who is not here, and the hon Jeremy Cronin have both appealed to us not to focus on how they got us into this mess, but to focus on how to get out of it. Unfortunately for both Ministers the DA has one in four South African voters demanding that we do our oversight job in this Parliament and ask those difficult questions. As such, I hereby call on the Minister of Finance and the Treasury to open an investigation into the Electronic Toll Collections consortium's contract and the contract with the Vienna-based Kapsch TrafficCom, which has 85% ownership of Electronic Toll Collections, ETC. We need to know all the details of why Sanral signed such an exorbitant toll collection contract with ETC and what Tolplan's role in this was.
We must know: one, who signed the contract; two, why the exorbitant costs were not initially tabled in the Gauteng province, in Parliament or with the Treasury before the contracts were agreed to; three, what the exact administrative costs will be as opposed to payments for the actual infrastructure, which our calculations show are exorbitant in the extreme; four, why the collection costs will be so much more than the costs of the actual infrastructure; and, finally, who was enriched in the process. [Interjections.]
The public-participation process was also extremely flawed. The Constitution, the Bill of Rights and numerous South African laws have clearly set down the need for the public to be informed and consulted in appropriate ways when major projects affecting the public are undertaken. In the case of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project, public participation was either rushed through or nonexistent. In typical ruling- party style, the public in Gauteng were treated as cannon fodder for the political agenda of politicians and bureaucrats intent on another grand project.
Public roads and highways are crucial in providing public transport for goods and people, but this project has grown from a public necessity into another grand and overpriced edifice. Spending of this kind of taxpayers' and commuters' money without consulting the public is unforgivable. We cannot just let it go, hon Gordhan and hon Cronin. The public demands to know why so little consultation has occurred.
Finally, the DA objects most of all to the costly and inefficient system of collecting the toll fees. If an alternative, such as adding a fuel levy of 12 cents per litre of fuel, had been considered, it is our calculation that this would have cost the retailing industry approximately R4 million to collect the funds necessary to pay for the toll roads over a period of time. This would have been a reasonable cost. This toll scheme should be funded out of these levies.
However, according to our calculations, what is envisaged by this Gauteng toll scheme is a cost of R1 billion per annum just to collect the money. This amount adds up to R11 billion in administration fees over the cost period of this project. [Interjections.] This amount will be spent on just collecting toll fees from the consumer. Where does 85% of the profit from the collections process go? A private company, headquartered in Europe, will be taking 85% of the profit to line the pockets of foreigners. That's billions of rand of taxpayers' and motorists' money being flushed down the drain that could have been spent on highways or public transport, or even subsidising buses or taxis for the poor! That is not a caring government, Mr Speaker. That is a colossal waste of poor people's money, last seen in South Africa during the days of the Arms Deal. [Interjections.]
The DA cannot rest until we know who authorised this mess, why such huge fees were paid, and whether any kickbacks occurred. [Interjections.] [Applause.]