The “financial trainwreck” that is the Gautrain….

The Automobile Association (AA) has slammed the Gauteng provincial government for wanting to spend R120 billion on extending the Gautrain service. In this interview with BizNews, the AA’s Layton Beard points out that billions of Rands of Gauteng taxpayer’s money has already been paid to the operating company Bombela since 2012 through the Patronage Guarantee “due to the actual revenue and ridership being significantly below the minimum required total revenue projections”. The expansion plan was announced by Premier Panyaza Lesufi despite the MEC for Finance and Economic Development, Lebogang Maile’s recent warning that the province is on the brink of potential bankruptcy because of its commitments, among other things, to e-toll debt.