It’s official, e-tolls will be refunded to law-abiding citizens

E-tolls are unfortunately still a thing. In 2023. Yup, the entire scheme was meant to shut down before the clock struck twelve on 31 December 2022. That… didn’t happen. The Gauteng Premier’s office released a statement confirming the delay of e-tolls’ demise. We can’t be exactly sure when they’re going away, but until then, Sanral can continue collecting bills. But there is perhaps some good news attached.

Recently, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi said that people who have paid their e-tolls bills will have their money refunded. Speaking to 702 yesterday, Lesufi claimed that the e-toll shutdown delay was due to this decision slowing the process down. Eventually, however, it was decided that Gauteng motorists should be repaid.

How much?

“It’s clear we have to refund people. We will refund people who have paid. The outstanding debate is the manner in which they will be refunded,” the premier said.

And then there’s the question of “how much?”. Judging by the current compliance rate – which sits at 17% – the total amount owed equals somewhere close to R6.9 billion. That’s on top of the entire project’s debt, which is nearly R43 billion overall.