Sanral board to probe Cosatu claims

Johannesburg - The SA National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) board is investigating a Cosatu allegation that information about the upgrading of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP) is being withheld, it said on Tuesday.

The board viewed in a serious light claims that Sanral had deliberately blacked out sections of documents about the GFIP, spokesperson Tembakazi Mnyaka said in a statement.

Sanral took matters of corporate governance, transparency and compliance with the law seriously, he said.

"It is our duty to seek an appropriate balance between open disclosure and protecting commercially sensitive information of companies who bid for Sanral contracts, and to guide management accordingly."

Sanral's board would urgently investigate the allegations.

Earlier, Transport Minister Sibusiso Ndebele instructed Sanral's board to make public all information pertaining to the upgrading of the GFIP.

"The minister's instruction follows the handing over of documents relating to the GFIP... to Cosatu earlier today... where certain parts of the documents were made illegible," the department said in a statement.

"We have instructed the board of Sanral to ensure that all relevant information pertaining to the upgrading of the GFIP Phase 1A is accessible to the public."

Tolling on Gauteng freeways is imminent on 185km of the N1, N3, N12 and R21 around Johannesburg and Tshwane.

In terms of GFIP, these roads and their interchanges had been improved and costs estimated at around R20bn would be recouped through toll charges.

With effect from April 30, motorcycles with e-tags will pay 20 cents a kilometre and those without, 38c. Light motor vehicles will pay 30c and 58c respectively, and non-articulated trucks 75c and R1.45.

Articulated trucks with e-tags will pay R1.51 a kilometre, and those without R2.90. Under the new fee system, the cost for motorcycles and light vehicles will be capped at R550 a month.