“Unfortunately, due to a decline in Gauteng’s share of the national population, the province faces further budgetary reductions. Key components such as education, health and poverty alleviation, which collectively account for 91% of the PES formula, will be affected, creating additional fiscal pressure,” he said.
He added that this effect would be minimised to ensure that basic services continue to be provided to residents.
The gantries of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project were officially disconnected from the e-toll system across the province in April this year. This followed the initial announcement by finance minister Enoch Godongwana during his 2022 midterm budget policy statement (MTBPS) that e-tolls would be scrapped.
The South African National Roads Agency (Sanral), the national department of transport, the National Treasury and the Gauteng provincial government finalised a memorandum of agreement.
To resolve the funding impasse, Gauteng agreed to contribute 30% to settling Sanral’s debt and interest obligations, while the national government would cover 70%.
“The obligation to service this debt has necessitated the implementation of a host of reforms and measures to maintain a healthy fiscal environment that will be both sustainable and manageable in the long term. As the Gauteng provincial government, we have a full appreciation of the implications that repaying the e-toll debt will have on our financial position,” said Maile.
A total of R1.2bn was rolled over to the 2024/25 financial year, comprising R920.9m in conditional grants and R282.5m in the provincial equitable share.