Don’t panic, says OUTA
This was a default judgement given as a result of someone not responding to a summons.
THERE is no court judgement victory for SANRAL (South African National Roads Agency Limited), says OUTA.
Wayne Duvenage, chairperson for OUTA, stated in a media release that those who have seen or heard of SANRAL’s claim of a victory in the e-toll fight recently might be concerned with how this affects them and OUTA’s (Opposition to Urban Toll Alliance) fight against e-tolls.
“Please read the important information and facts below. We encourage you to forward this onto all your friends and colleagues to empower them with the facts,” Duvenage added.
The important facts which everyone needs to know:
There was no court case:
This was a default judgment given as a result of someone not responding to a summons. The matter was not heard in court. There was no fight or any legal defence presented on the matter. No judge has provided a ruling in this case. It was merely an administrative process by the registrar in the court signing approval of a default judgment, because no counter argument by the person concerned was presented.
Default judgements are not precedent-setting:
SANRAL claims this is a precedent-setting judgment. It is not. The merits of the case still need to be heard in court.
The status of OUTA’s e-toll case:
Our legal team has demanded the necessary documents from SANRAL which need to be presented to the courts. Once we have the documents, the case to prove the unlawfulness of the e-toll decision is able to proceed. OUTA is committed to fighting this case, regardless of SANRAL’s occasional misleading claims of victory.
SANRAL have made these claims before:
We remind the public of a false claim made by SANRAL in September 2015 against a Dr Stoyan Stoychev, who fitted false number plates to evade fines and e-toll payment. In that case, SANRAL claimed a court case victory in favour of an e-toll case, when in fact, it was not. It was a complete farce and once again they are doing the same thing.
Headlines and propaganda are not reality:
Please do not panic when reading false statements and headlines. The reality is that a real case will have to be heard at some stage. Until then, SANRAL can and will use every tactic to claim hollow victories. This is the nature of this particular state-owned entity with a reputation for misleading the public and lying to the media with false claims of e-tag uptakes in the past.
All OUTA supporters are protected by OUTA’s e-Toll defence umbrella:
If you are a contributing supporter of OUTA and you receive a summons, simply notify us and we will handle the rest for you. If you are not a supporter, we have guidelines on our website to direct you how to handle a summons. Whatever you do, please do not ignore a summons.
Judging by SANRAL’s desperate conduct, there appears to be no sanity prevailing on this irrational, inefficient and unlawful scheme. As such, we will continue to fight and defend the rights of citizens, to ensure that government and its state-owned entities conduct themselves within the law and in the best interests of the public.
Not yet a contributing OUTA supporter?
If you are not yet a contributing OUTA supporter, we encourage you to jump on board as we have many legal action projects lined up for 2017 which will only be possible with your support.
OUTA supporters are eligible to receive our full legal defence at no charge, should they be summonsed for non-payment of e-Tolls.
Together we will ensure those who are guilty of maladministration and corruption will be held accountable. Being an OUTA supporter makes you the fuel that drives an extremely effective corruption-fighting machine.
For more information or to become a member of OUTA, visi www.outa.co.za/outa-membership-and-donation
*Supplied by Wayne Duvenage, chairperson for OUTA.
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SANRAL discusses it’s e-toll project
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