Several organisations, political parties and public figures have expressed their disappointment following Minister of Transport Dipuo Peters’ announcement that e-tolls would go live on December 3.
The DA’s Gauteng Premier Candidate, Mmusi Maimane, described the announcement as a sad day for the Gauteng province and for South Africa because the widespread public opposition to the system has been ignored by government. He also believes this is only the beginning.
“The Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP) will ultimately cover around 560km of the freeway network in Gauteng. Considering that the first phase of this system only covers around 185km, the network is set to more than double.
“Future routes are expected to be along the N14 Krugersdorp highway, sections of the M1, the N14 to Pretoria, the N3 to Heidelberg, the R59 and sections of the N12. Whether directly or indirectly, the majority of Gauteng’s residents will eventually pay the price of tolling. Residents who are not regular road users will still feel the pinch through increased food and living expenses,” said Mr Maimane.
The Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union, IMATU, are also concerned about the effects these additional costs will have on its members and South African citizens in general.
They believe one of the results of e-tolls will be the increasing cost of transport and doing business within the province.
This will, in turn, affect the prices of goods and services and many South Africans will have to dig deeper into their disposable income to pay this additional levy.
“IMATU is very disappointed that alternative funding mechanisms for the GFIP have not been explored.
“Public consultation revealed huge opposition to this model of tolling, the way in which the programme has been funded and the way in which it is going to be rolled out,” explained IMATU’s general secretary, Johan Koen.
The multibillion-Rand project has been shrouded in controversy and was at the centre of a lengthy, but unsuccessful, legal battle by the Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance (OUTA).
The group eventually abandoned its legal battle last month after the Supreme Court of Appeal dismissed its bid to stop e-tolling, stating it was too late to do so.
In a statement released by OUTA, the organisation expressed its perspective stating, “We continue to be amazed that our government, which is supposed to represent the best interest of its people, ignores the unrelenting opposition to e-toll from unions, church groups, broad based civil organisations, opposition political parties and the public at large.
“In addition to the public’s resistance and additional litigation challenges by political parties, the authorities must surely be concerned about the legality of e-tolls which has yet to be determined.”
“November 20 will go down in history as the day government ignored the voices of its people,” said Yusuf Abramjee, the second vice president of Crime Stoppers International.
