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The South African Communist Party (SACP) in Mpumalanga province is deeply concerned by the decision of the Trans African Concession (TRAC) to increase toll fees effective from 1 March 2023. This decision comes at a time when the country is facing a multiplicity of economic challenges that are negatively affecting the working class and poor.

Firstly, the Covid-19 pandemic has plunged the country into one of the worst job crises since our 1994 democratic breakthrough.  By the second quarter of 2020, just when Covid-19 was at an early stage, more than 2.2 million jobs were lost, and the number continued to rise. Coupled with this was the decline in GDP which means that the country was not as productive as it should have been, and households’ income declined.

This situation was made worse by the continued power blackouts which are also hitting our economy very hard. The South African Reserve Bank estimated that South Africa is losing about R899m per day due to load-shedding, which makes it hard for many citizens to find employment and contribute to the economy. Those who are working are also finding it difficult to survive as a result of increasing debts that they incurred because of Covid-19 and load-shedding. So, how does an institution like TRAC justify increasing these toll tariffs which were also recently increased without any considerations to the concrete conditions.

As the SACP, we have always made it clear that state and other institutions (public and private) must always put people before profits. TRAC cannot be allowed to act against the interests of the people and always prioritise its selfish interests. As the SACP in Mpumalanga, we will engage the management of TRAC in trying to find a workable solution to this problem as this will also negatively affect the economy of the province. If no common ground is reached, we will mobilise the working-class and embark on mass action to fight this injustice.

As we speak, structures of our Party and COSATU are preparing to embark on a rolling mass action to uproot all the multiple toll increases that are always happening without proper consultation of the people of our province. This remains a critical matter which is having a potential to divide families due to the exorbitant amount of money expected to be paid, which are exceeding all toll gates in the country, and they are unaffordable to our people.

Issued by: SACP Mpumalanga Province