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It is high time that the Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana, announces the decision that has been made on e-Tolls.

Today, the Minister will be delivering the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement, and this is the ideal opportunity for the government to announce a decision on e-Tolls.

Gauteng residents have been subjected to an unwanted tolling system when the government unilaterally decided to implement the e-Tolling system.

For years now, the ANC-led government has been promising to get rid of e-Tolls, but all these promises have come to nought.

We have maintained that enough revenue was already generated through fuel levies in Gauteng that could already have paid off the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP).

Gauteng residents should not be subjected to a new tax to pay for the GFIP but instead, the e-Tolling system should be used in other ways to generate income.

A DA-led government will use the current e-Tolling infrastructure to enforce the speed limit on our roads. In addition, it will be used to improve the flow of traffic on our roads, we will set out certain times at which trucks should be on the roads and the infrastructure currently used for e-Tolls can be used to monitor this. If trucks are then found to be on the roads outside of the designated time, a fine will be imposed.

Do the right thing Minister of Finance and put an end to e-Tolls this week. Our residents deserve to have a government in place that will always listen to their needs. The DA has opposed e-Tolls for the past 13 years and, we will continue in our campaign to have this unwanted system scrapped.

Issued by Fred Nel MPL - DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Roads and Transport