Alli, speaking during the Public Sector Manager Forum in Centurion, Pretoria, said there were people in the country who were not prepared to pay directly for the improvement of roads.
“We need to look after our roads. As soon as there are road improvements, property values go up,” he said.
Alli said a study conducted by the Automobile Association had found that in a traffic congestion, a motorist would have to spend 40 hours a week stuck in traffic, and that as a result R56-million of fuel would be wasted in the process
Regarding the controversial e-toll system, Alli said: “I encourage people to have e-tags. We have introduced various kinds of discounts.”
Alli said motorcycles with e-tags would be charged R250 per month, a light motor vehicle R450, while heavy trucks would be charged R3500. He added that the e-toll system would be operational as from next month.
Responding to the call to replace e-tolling with the collection of fuel levies, Alli said there were currently no mechanisms in all of the country’s nine provinces to collect fuel levies.
Alli said many people had claimed the government did not care about the poor. “Since 1994 we have built over 20-million houses, and we are making improvements in public transport.”
