NATIONAL NEWS - The government has once again failed to meet its self-imposed deadline set by Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula to make an announcement on the future of the controversial e-toll system.
Mbalula made his most recent e-tolls deadline announcement on May 6 when he told the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) that a government announcement on the future of e-tolls would be made in the next two weeks.
“The decision is on the table. We expect that in the next two weeks we should be back to cabinet.
“Before we [Department of Transport] table our budget vote speech, we should have gone to you [the NCOP] and the public to announce the cabinet decision on the e-tolls.
“We have to finalise this decision in the next two weeks,” he said.
The two weeks is up
The last day of the 14-day period within which Mbalula indicated an announcement would be made was Thursday (May 20) but none was forthcoming from the government.
Mbalula will on Friday (May 21) deliver his budget vote speech, and could possibly make an announcement on e-tolls during this speech.
However, cabinet spokesperson Phumla Williams confirmed on Thursday that e-tolls had not been on the agenda of the cabinet meeting held on May 12.
Williams further confirmed that a cabinet meeting was not held this week and the next cabinet meeting is scheduled to take place on May 26.
Ayanda Allie Paine, spokesperson for the Transport Minister, confirmed on Thursday that Mbalula will deliver his budget vote speech on Friday but stressed that she could not pre-empt anything that he may or may not be saying in the speech.
‘It’s not up to Mbalula’
Paine added that Mbalula will also not release any announcement pertaining to the e-tolls unilaterally because “it is a matter between himself and Treasury and until it is brought before cabinet”.
“The Minister [Mbalula] has met Tito Mboweni [Finance Minister] and has presented to cabinet so now the necessary processes are underway. It’s not a transport [department] unilateral decision,” she said.
Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) CEO Wayne Duvenage said on Thursday it is expecting Mbalula to “say something” about the future of the e-toll system during his budget vote speech.
However, Duvenage said Outa will not be surprised if an announcement is not made because of missed deadlines in the past.
“Fikile just keeps digging this hole and the trust deficit keeps getting wider and wider,” he said.
