The matter concerns the legality of the process that was followed in declaring certain national roads as toll roads.

The Western Cape High Court earlier reviewed and set aside an application by Sanral to the Minister of Transport to approve the declaration of a number of toll roads. It further set aside the decision by the minister to approve that declaration.

The SCA held that both Sanral and the minister had acted unlawfully in purporting to have the roads declared as toll roads in terms of the South African National Roads Agency Limited and National Roads Act.

The Act requires that, for a road to be lawfully declared a toll road, Sanral must apply to the minister to have the road declared as a toll road, and the minister must approve that application. On the evidence, however, it appeared that Sanral’s board of directors had never held a meeting to consider the matter, and had never formally approved the tolling of the roads.
The SCA held that the decisions by both Sanral and the Minister of Transport were invalid.

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