JOHANNESBURG – South African National Road Agency (SANRAL) has thrown in the towel over e-toll debts of more than three years.
The agency has written off R3.6 billion in the 2017 financial year relating to the debts. They will, however, continue to attempt to recover unpaid e-tolls by pursuing defaulter in the courts.
The agency says the Sanral Act enables it to institute criminal prosecutions against defaulter. Attorneys believe a criminal conviction will be hard to sell in any court and will also be a public relations nightmare for Sanral.
Sanral recognises that any debt that is over three years old shouldn’t be counted. The agency will be under great pressure to find resolution though the courts on the recoverability of unpaid e-tolls.
It seems very likely that can drag on for another year, if that happens the agency will have to write off another chunk of unpaid e-toll next year.
The most telling sign of Sanral’s financial problems is the increased loss posted, at under R5 billion, which went up from the loss of R1.2 billion that was posted last year, the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse said.
“However, it was the change of heart in Sanral’s treatment of its outstanding toll debt when compared to last years, that one notices the processing of impairment losses of R3.6 billion which relates to e-toll debts that were written off,” Wayne Duvenage says.
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