File photo: OUTA
The South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) had expected credit losses of R28.7 billion from toll debtors, largely from the non-payment of e-tolls on the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP), at 31 March this year.
It stressed in its 2023/24 annual report that customers are obliged to settle their accounts irrespective of the scrapping of the e-tolls system effective from midnight on 11 April 2024 – despite the uncertainty around how and if this can be enforced.
Sanral’s board stopped the issuance of summons to the public for statutory debt on 27 March 2019.
The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) previously claimed that much of this debt was prescribed.
Outa CEO Wayne Duvenage told Moneyweb in July the only way Sanral would be able to collect the outstanding billions owed by motorists who have not paid their e-toll accounts is by issuing summonses to them.
However, he said Outa has a high court test case that is pending on e-toll charges – and Sanral had made it very clear it does not want to enter into a litigious lawfare strategy with the public.
Sanral said there has been no significant change in the 2023/23 financial year compared to prior periods on the overall collection rate of the toll debt transferred to the Violation Processing Centre (VPC), which remains very low.
“The recoverability rate on historical debt transferred to VPC is less than 1%,” it said.
“There is no material collection expected from non-key account holders (non-paying customers) after the reporting date due to the announcement.
“All VPC debt at the reporting date has proven difficult to recover, therefore it is impaired in full,” it said.
Unqualified audit report
Sanral received an unqualified audit report from the Auditor-General (AG) for its 2023/24 financial year but the R28.7 billion in expected credit losses (ECL) from toll debtors is an “emphasis of matter”.
The AG said the calculation of the ECL from toll debtors was considered to be a key audit matter due to the subjectivity of the estimations and judgments, but concluded that based on the procedures performed: “I am satisfied that ECL on toll debtors are reasonable, in line with my expectation, and appropriately disclosed.”
Sanral said in notes to its financial statements that in 2024 the confirmed irregular expenditure decreased from R6 737 million in 2023 to R479 million.
It said this included R407 million which relates to irregular contracts identified in 2023 and confirmed in the current 2024 financial year, with the remaining balance mainly from irregular contracts identified in prior years to the tune of R72 million.
Sanral said there was no fruitless and wasteful expenditure confirmed in 2024 and the 2023 fruitless and wasteful expenditure amounted to R33.73 million and was approved by the board for a write-off.
It also highlighted that as of year-end, there were no fraudulent or criminal acts found against employees and no material losses were regarded as recoverable from employees or perpetrators.
For a detailed report on this story visit www.moneyweb.co.za
