The South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) plans to issue a new tender for the Open Road Tolling (ORT) system on the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP) – even supposing a remaining resolution on the way forward for e-tolls on GFIP is about to be introduced by October.
Sanral performing CEO Lehlohonolo Memeza additionally confirmed to Moneyweb final week that there was a median 17.7% e-toll cost compliance fee on GFIP within the first six months of 2022.
Memeza mentioned the very best compliance fee achieved on this interval was 17.88% in February and the bottom 17.52% in April.
Memeza mentioned the ORT tender can be topic to the oversight of the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA).
This follows Sanral asserting on 30 June that it had appointed the DBSA to act because the company’s infrastructure procurement and supply administration assist on the 5 strategic tasks whose tenders, collectively valued at R17.47 billion, had been cancelled in May.
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Sanral’s acknowledged goal is to get these 5 tenders marketed, evaluated and adjudicated for advice to its board and to award these tenders inside 4 months.
Memeza additionally confirmed that the Electronic Toll Collections (ETC) contract for the ORT system has been prolonged once more, this time till 15 September 2022.
According to Sanral, the cancelled ORT and Transaction Clearing House (TCH) tender accounted for R6.872 billion of the entire R17.47 billion worth of the cancelled tenders.
ETC’s authentic contract has already been prolonged a number of occasions over the previous few years.
The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) has questioned how ETC’s contract could be regularly prolonged.
Outa beforehand mentioned the ORT contract was awarded to ETC in 2013 and was supposed to finish on 2 December 2018.
Breaking each rule, says Outa
Memeza mentioned final week the most recent extension to ETC’s contract has “been done in accordance with the appropriate delegations”.
“It should be noted that the extensions still fall within the original tendered amount,” she mentioned.
However, Sanral confirmed in December 2020 in an official response to a Moneyweb question that the extension of ETC’s contract for one other yr from 2 December 2020 would carry the contract to the utmost eight-year interval.
Sanral mentioned at the moment: “The ETC contract has been extended from 2 December 2020 for another year. This will bring the contract to the maximum eight-year period, as was allowed for in the original contract, or shorter if the new contractor is appointed before the end of the maximum period allowed.”
Outa CEO Wayne Duvenage on Friday described the continuous extension of ETC’s contract as “just a farce”.
“If you take a look at the PFMA [Public Finance Management Act] and the foundations and legal guidelines, they’re breaking each rule underneath the solar.
“But the reality is that I don’t know who is going to tender for a scheme that is going to be cancelled,” he mentioned.
Final resolution on e-tolls …
This follows Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula confirming on 30 June that a remaining resolution on the way forward for e-tolls can be introduced when Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana delivers the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement in October this yr, or earlier than then.
Mbalula added that the federal government has scrapped a plan to use the gas levy as an alternative of e-tolls to pay for the GFIP, due to the latest sharp enhance in gas costs.
Smoke and mirrors
Duvenage mentioned Outa believes the GFIP compliance fee is 15% however a few p.c distinction between Sanral’s figures and Outa’s estimate “is neither here nor there because it’s a failed scheme”.
He mentioned the most important fear is the price of the GFIP e-toll scheme as a result of at a compliance fee of 17%, it’s elevating between R50 million to R60 million a month.
Duvenage mentioned ETC doesn’t mail e-toll accounts to motorists until they’re paying their e-toll payments and believes ETC has considerably diminished its working and administration prices by this and pure attrition by not changing workers who’ve left the corporate.
“I ponder how a lot revenue they’re making out of the R50 million to R60 million a month. One doesn’t see any of these books.
“But is R10 million a month going to Sanral or is it nothing? Is it all going to ETC? Is ETC profitable at that amount? It’s difficult to tell because there is so much smoke and mirrors and no transparency,” he mentioned.
Duvenage mentioned Outa needs the choice to scrap e-tolls to be introduced “sooner than later”.
The different cancelled adjudicated Sanral tenders that can be overseen by the DBSA are:
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The Mtentu River Bridge tender valued R3.428 billion, which is among the nation’s presidential precedence tasks.
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The EB Cloete Interchange Improvements tender valued at R4.302 billion.
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The N3 Ashburton Interchange tender valued at R1.814 billion.
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The R56 Matatiele rehabilitation tender valued at R1.057 billion.
The materials irregularity that led to the Sanral board’s resolution to cancel the 5 tenders was the failure of Sanral officers to adjust to a board decision.
Memeza mentioned this associated to Sanral’s board noting that it was business apply that the consultants who designed the mission, and assisted in drawing up the specs for the tender, additionally assisted within the analysis of the tender by offering the technical evaluation.
She mentioned the board noticed a battle of curiosity in that apply and determined that going ahead no marketing consultant must be concerned within the design and specs, after which additionally take part within the technical analysis of the bid.
