National
Government pensions invested in toll road debt─── 11:05 Fri, 20 Apr 2012
Johannesburg - The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) says if the Gauteng e-toll project fails, government will have to bail out Sanral, as well as the civil servants' pension fund. Chairperson of the board of trustees of the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF), Arthur Moloto, confirmed that as of the end of February this year, it held roughly 50% of Sanral bonds valued at around R15.7bn. Beeld newspaper reports that the money was invested by the Public Investment Corporation, which is owned by government and manages investment funds on behalf of public sector entities. Moloto told the newspaper that the GEPF had nothing to hide, and that all investments have been tabled in parliament. However, the IFP said the investment was the real reason behind government's push to ensure the controversial e-tolling project succeeds. The IFP's finance spokesperson Narend Singh said a failure of the toll system would be disastrous.
Sapa
