With e-tolls in Gauteng finally over after a decade of large-scale noncompliance, the South African National Road Agency Limited (Sanral) is running out of options and time to deal with over R60 billion in historical debt from the failed project.
Despite calls from civil society to cancel the debt, experts have questioned whether it is actually legal for Sanral to do so.
A legal challenge against the controversial system by then-named Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance (OUTA) went as far as the Constitutional Court before being implemented in 2013. Despite this, there was widespread opposition by the likes of OUTA (now called the Organisation Against Tax Abuse), with motorists urged to refrain from paying their e-toll debt and to refuse to have their cars fixed with e-tags.