The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa), which came about to oppose the e-tolls in 2010, has transformed over the years and will continue acting as a civil society organisation for as long as there is a need.
Wayne Duvenage, the chief executive officer of Outa said, “We shouldn’t exist theoretically but if there are reasons, determination, resilience and resources you can make a difference and bring about change.”
He discussed the organisations work over the last eight years which has led to it becoming one of the most recognisable civil society organisations in the country.
During the discussion hosted by the Southern Africa-Canada Chamber of Commerce in Sandton on 21 February, Duvenage said that often civil society is like a watchdog for the government but they are a dog with no bite. “Outa aims to make sure that they do have a bite and can hold government accountable.”
The Outa team has grown from four people to more than 40 in eight years and now hires a team of investigators, researchers and litigators to work on projects full time.
“What is critical in times of change is momentum, we cannot let up.”
The organisation has been tackling major national problems, however, Duvenage said they now want to focus on local government and issues which affect people every day such as poor service delivery and corruption of local government politicians.
“We have a lot of people around the country who say, ‘Look at the sewage running down my street, look at the potholes and that’s what we’re going to do now. We want to hold these people to account. We’re paying the taxes now we want you to do your job.”
Duvenage added that just because they feel they have accomplished some of their goals does not mean the civil society should drop its guard as there are still many problems which need to be tackled.
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