Newly appointed Gauteng MEC for Finance and Economic Development Lebogang Maile has said the provincial government is 'on track' to pay the first installment of its debt obligations to the South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) in September.
This first payment of R4.1 billion for infrastructure and maintenance backlogs, is part of an agreement it reached with National Treasury earlier this year.
Maile said at a briefing on Sunday that while the province was on track for the backlog payments, a loan had not been finalised or secured for the province's entire debt obligation.
News24 previously reported that Gauteng agreed to pay 30% of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP) debt to compensate for scrapping e-tolls, in addition to its payments for maintenance backlogs.
Former Finance MEC Jason Mamabolo said in March that the province would look towards a commercial loan to finance the R12.9 billion GFIP debt payment, with R2.3 billion pencilled in for the next three years from the province's revenue streams for the loan. National Treasury is expected to pay 70% of the GFIP debt.
