Government sticking to e-toll guns

Presenting his R39bn departmental budget for the next financial year in the National Assembly, Transport Minister S'bu Ndebele claimed that the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project had won the support of the majority of its users. But opposition parties - the DA, COPE and the African Christian Democratic Party - slammed the system, some branding it the 'most expensive in the world'. Ndebele said a 'huge majority' of the estimated 800 000 regular users of Gauteng's freeways had given e-tolling the thumbs-up by buying e-tags. 'We are encouraged that 501 245 e-tags have so far been sold and distributed to regular users of this road network. It's a clear indication that people are co-operating with us,' he said. But Walter Theledi, deputy general secretary of the SA Municipal Workers Union (Samwu), told the Gauteng Cosatu march outside the Department of Transport, that, like the Gautrain, e- tolling of highways was made for the rich. 'If poor people are unable to afford the Gautrain, how will they be able to afford e-toll fees? There will be blood if e-tolling is not stopped. There is no way we can have a government which does not listen to the people,' he is quoted as saying in a report in The Citizen. Full report in The Times Full report in The Citizen

The cost of the e-tolling system is actually R32bn, not R20bn as opponents claim, according to Ndebele. According to a Beeld report this figure, confirmed by Deputy Minister Jeremy Cronin, includes interest. Parliamentary committee chairperson Ruth Bengu (ANC) lashed out at one of the most vocal opponents of e-tolling, ANC alliance partner Cosatu, saying it should pay back the money it had received from the project. 'Kopano Ke Matla, a company owned by Cosatu, made money from the project. If Cosatu believes the tolling system is so wrong, they must pay back the profits made from it,' she said. Although the government's official stance is to stick to its guns, the report says there is increasing talk about the government re-evaluating its contract for the collection of tolls. Ndebele did not confirm this yesterday, but is quoted as saying 'there must be a cheaper way to collect the toll monies'. Full Beeld report

The court battle to interdict the implementation of the tolling regime is scheduled to resume today. The legal team representing the Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance (Outa) and others convinced Judge Bill Prinsloo that he should treat the case against tolling as urgent. Prinsloo ruled that the applicants had made a valid case for urgency and that 'the public interest and the ongoing interest from many quarters' caused it to be an urgent matter. Dismissing the argument of the respondents - which included SA National Road Agency Limited (Sanral), Ndebele, Gauteng MEC for Roads and Transport Ismail Vadi and the Treasury - that the alliance's application was four years late, the judge said it was apparent that the fate of the e-tolling system was uncertain until Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan's February budget speech; therefore it 'would have been premature' for the applicants to lodge their application before then. According to a report on the Mail & Guardian Online site, Prinsloo said lawyers for the Sanral, National Treasury, the national Transport Minister and the Gauteng Transport Minister did not persuade him that the Outa application was an abuse of the court. In his argument on why the system should be scrapped, Alistair Franklin, for Outa, said the e-tolling system was so unreasonable that no reasonable person would decide to put it into effect. He said there were disproportionate costs. 'Collecting costs are exceeding the cost of improvement (of the roads).' Outa had a prima facie case, said Franklin. The Minister of Transport had to explain the justification for the 'bizarre' decision to resort to tolling to recover the cost of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project. According to Sanral, the tolls would cost about R21bn over 20 years - a figure denied by officials. First report on the Mail & Guardian Online site Second report on the Mail & Guardian Online site

Figures obtained from a committee appointed by Ndebele last year revealed operation of the tolling system would cost R5.3bn for five years, the court was told, according to a Business Day report. The cost of the first phase of the freeway project was R20.5bn. Franklin said Ndebele had not considered the availability of alternative public transport. Franklin said enforcement of the toll was impossible in practice, because if 7% of motorists did not comply, Sanral would need to issue about 70 000 summons a day. If the application is unsuccessful, e-tolling will begin on Monday, but Outa has an opportunity next month or in June to launch an application to review and set aside the toll road declaration. Full Business Day report See also a Moneyweb report

Afrikaner lobby group AfriForum's application to be admitted as a friend of the court was dismissed, notes a report on the News24 site. Prinsloo said a tariff publication on 13 April, which AfriForum was attacking, was not before him. It was part of the supplementary affidavit dealing with the amendment to tariff exemptions, filed by Outa, which he struck from the court roll on Tuesday. Prinsloo said the application was launched at a very late stage. It was inappropriate for a friend of the court to introduce new contentions based on fresh evidence, he said. Legal teams for Sanral and the National Treasury had opposed the admission of AfriForum. Sanral's lawyer Bruce Leech said he took issue with the fact that AfriForum was aligning itself with Outa in opposing the tolling system. He said a friend of the court had to assist the court, and not take sides. AfriForum lawyer Greta Engelbrecht said the lobby group should be given the chance to make submissions that were relevant and useful. AfriForum was asking the court to consider whether the publication of the e-toll tariffs on 13 April complied with Section 27 of the SA National Roads Agency Limited Act. It wanted the court to look at whether the classification of vehicles was warranted. 'They (AfriForum) must not be admitted because they can't assist on the issues presently in front of the court. She (Engelbrecht) wants to expand the scope of the issues with something new,' Leech argued. Full report on the News24 site

Sanral CEO Nazir Alii said minibus taxi operators and commuter bus services would have to be registered for an e-toll account and be fitted with an e-tag from Sanral if they are to qualify for toll exemptions, says a Business Day report. This mandatory registration process would ensure that only legal, permit-holding taxis and buses qualify for the zero-rate tariff on the tolled portions of Gauteng's freeways, Alii added. This process would also assist in the identification and potential prosecution of illegal taxi operators vehicles that may have cloned licence plates. The report notes for taxis, the registration requirement has the potential to unleash chaos in the sector, as it would expose unlawful operators - believed to constitute a large part of the industry in Johannesburg - and cause an administrative burden in an industry well-known for violence and civic disruption. Full Business Day report