Sanral: E-toll debt has not been written off

While the agency admits it is struggling to collect e-toll debt, it says it has no plans to write it off.

Their comments follow media reports which claim Sanral will scrap debt of more than R3 billion in unpaid e-tolls.

Sanral says: “Reports that the agency has written off debt were incorrect. It would not be prudent to write this amount off until it becomes clear it is not collectible.”

Sanral appeared before the Portfolio Committee on Transport to submit its Integrated Annual Report on Tuesday.

It says it was afforded an opportunity to explain key audit matters raised by the auditor general, one of which was the calculated impairment losses of e-toll debtors.

“This resulted in a R3.61 billion impairment or reduction of debtors. After the impairment the outstanding debtors on e-toll is R5.185 billion.

“The agency reported e-toll collections at R1 862 million and received an additional grant from the fiscus of R372.9 million,” Sanral explains in a statement.

Meanwhile, the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) says Sanral’s financial statements provide a clear signal that the state-owned entity acknowledges that it is finding collecting the Gauteng e-toll debt extremely difficult.

Outa says this also means that Sanral is likely to require increased funding from an already over-stretched National Treasury.

Outa transport portfolio manager, Rudie Heyneke, says: “It is the treatment of the outstanding e-toll debt when compared to last year that illustrates that Sanral is starting to face e-toll reality.”