On Monday, Premier Davis Makhura indicated in his state of the Province address, that the e-Toll system has not gone according to plan, when he said; “I must admit publicly, as I did last year, that all the efforts we have made through the Advisory Panel have not led to the resolution of concerns of Gauteng motorists regarding affordability.”

More revealing was the Premier’s statement that “We can’t build roads and only later inform citizens that they must pay,” which confirms our long standing point that the Gauteng freeway tolling decision was built without the necessary consultation and engagement with society taking place.
 
The Premier confirmed that the Province is not in favour of the e-toll decision, however, OUTA disagrees with his view that this matter is out of their hands and lies at the national level of Government. The e-Toll freeways run throughout the Gauteng Province and the provincial leadership has every right to continue with its challenge against the scheme.  He could start by discontinuing his provincial fleets payment of e-tolls. 

The fact is that the Gauteng Provincial leadership could and should have intervened on this matter back in 2007, when they had the opportunity to do so.  The City of Cape Town’s action to halt the Winelands tolling project provides a fine example of how local government can take a stand and stop the abusive conduct of a state owned entity.

Of greater interest to OUTA in the Premiers speech, was his confirmation that “ there will no e-tolls on our new roads.”   This comment confirms OUTA’s position that the e-toll system has failed as an urban road funding mechanism.  

“We are concerned that Premier Makhura did not react as he should have, to societies rejection of the scheme during his E-Toll Socio-economic advisory panel sessions in 2014,” says Ben Theron, OUTA’s Portfolio Director for Transport. “The outcome of that process was an opportunity was lost by the Province to do more in placing the national leadership and Sanral under pressure to halt the scheme at the time.” 

OUTA remains committed to see and end to this unjust system and invites the public to continue to support OUTA in this battle against abuse of power by State Owned Entities.

 

Issued by OUTA