The South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) still wants to collect the long-outstanding Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP) e-toll debt from motorists.
This despite the agreement reached with government to pay 100% of the road agency’s GFIP e-toll debt.
Sanral said in its 2025 annual report released last week it is in the process of obtaining a legal opinion on possible actions related to collection of the long-outstanding e-toll debtors’ balance.
“It is envisaged that a decision will be taken after finalising the legal opinion and fulfilling all the required governance processes, including consultation with the relevant stakeholders and the executive authority (Minister of Transport),” it said.
“Even though the debt is not written off, the impairment reflects the expected future losses assessed annually at the end of each reporting period.”
ALSO READ: ‘No refunds’ says Lesufi – Motorists must pay outstanding e-tolls debts
Impairment loss
Sanral reported that the accumulated impairment loss allowance on e-toll receivables was at R28.956 billion at 31 March 2025 but the whole balance has been impaired, and thus the carrying amount of the GFIP 1 debt is zero, excluding key account holders.
It said the impairment of receivables refers to the irrecoverable amount of the outstanding debt, based on historical collection trends and expected collection rates and all receivables older than 90 days are impaired at the default rate of 100%.
“The probability of debt collection is based on historic trends and future economic factors that may affect the collection,” it said.
The gantries required for e-tolling in Gauteng were officially disconnected from the e-tolls network at 23.59 pm on 11 April 2024.
ALSO READ: E-tolls scrapped, but gantries will remain operational – Chikunga
End-of-e-tolls agreement
Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana made the announcement that e-tolls would be scrapped in his 2022 mid-term budget.
The Department of Transport, National Treasury and the Gauteng Provincial Government thereafter finalised a Memorandum of Agreement specifying that:
- Gauteng Provincial Government would pay 30% (R12.93 billion) of Sanral’s debt to national government and contribute R4.1 billion towards backlog maintenance on the GFIP;
- National Treasury would cover 70% of Sanral’s debt; and
- The declaration of GFIP as a toll road would be withdrawn.
ALSO READ: National Treasury clarifies why Gauteng residents foot bill for GFIP
Gauteng’s share
Gauteng MEC of Finance and Economic Development Lebogang Maile said in June 2025 that the province’s 30% share of the e-toll debt amounted to R12.9 billion “plus interest of R3.3 billion”.
Sanral’s total GFIP loan debt was about R43 billion when the toll gantries were switched off.
Sanral confirms in its 2025 annual report that the first government contribution towards its GFIP debt amounted to over R23.736 billion and was included in the special appropriation to reduce the GFIP debt in the 2022/23 financial year.
It said this allocation was provided in two tranches, with R8.98 billion paid to Sanral in January 2023 and R14.76 billion on 31 March 2023.
Sanral said an additional special allocation of R5.021 billion was received from government in February 2025.
Maile said at a media briefing on 29 June 2025 the province would, on the following day, pay the second instalment of its 30% portion of the e-toll historical debt, amounting to R3.377 billion.
He said the provincial government had made the first instalment of R3.8 billion on 30 September 2024 (R3.2 billion of historical debt and GFIP maintenance backlog portion of R546 million).
He said there is currently R3.559 billion outstanding from its commitment to pay Sanral R4.1 billion and the provincial government is involved in discussions with National Treasury about the payment terms to alleviate financial pressure on the province and enable it to deal with “immediate social challenges”.
ALSO READ: Lesufi slammed for ‘e-tolls lies’
‘Outstanding matters’ (abandoned claims?)
Sanral chair Themba Mhambi said in the 2025 annual report there are “outstanding matters” pertaining to GFIP that “continue to receive the attention of both Sanral and relevant authorities” including Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy, National Treasury and the Gauteng Provincial Government.
“Relevant announcements will be made as and when required, and by the appropriate authorities,” said Mhambi.
Moneyweb asked Sanral on Tuesday to clarify the meaning of this statement by Mhambi and respond to other issues related to the collection of e-toll debt but has not yet received a response.
Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) CEO Wayne Duvenage told Moneyweb this week he believes these “outstanding matters” could only relate to Outa’s high court application to end e-toll debt collection.
Outa reported last month that it lodged an application in the High Court in Pretoria on 20 August 2025 to declare that Sanral has abandoned 2 028 e-toll debt claims due to six years of inaction.
The applicants are Outa and 2 028 e-toll defendants (individuals and businesses) it has been defending for years in terms of its E-Toll Defence Umbrella.
Outa took on these cases after Sanral instituted legal action against the defendants and they approached Outa for assistance.
It said the respondents to its application are Sanral, the ministers of transport and finance, the minister and director-general of forestry, fisheries and the environment (FFE, formerly known as Environmental Affairs when the Outa defence of these matters started), and the Commissioner of the South African Revenue Service (Sars).
ALSO READ: ‘Gauteng has to give us money’: Godongwana questions Lesufi’s plans to scrap e-tolls
Legal costs
Outa said Sanral has indicated that it intends to oppose Outa’s application but if it wins, Sanral’s claims against the 2 028 e-toll defendants will fall away.
Outa is also requesting the court to make an order to force Sanral to pay Outa’s legal costs in the cases.
Outa executive director Advocate Stefanie Fick told Moneyweb this week that this amounts to an estimated R12 million.
Fick said Sanral had come back to Outa after it had lodged its application and asked if they could mediate that matter.
“We said yes but with strict timelines. We don’t want to create a situation that this time next year we are still mediating. We said we need to be finished with the mediation process by I think the end of November otherwise we continue with our high court application process.”
Fick said Outa and Sanral are still in the process of agreeing on a mediator, and that she is unaware if the legal opinion referred to in Sanral’s 2025 annual report relates to Outa’s application.
“But Sanral has a problem because some of the e-toll debt that has accumulated has prescribed.
“Sanral has received money from government [for the e-toll debt] so how can they still go after this money?”
This article was republished from Moneyweb. Read the original here.
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