e toll gazette discussion gets attention

E toll gate

PUBLIC consultations on gazetted terms and tariffs for Gauteng’s freeway e-tolling continued on Wednesday in Pretoria, attended by more people than the meeting held in Kempton Park the day before but with similar contempt displayed for the controversial system.

Lobby group Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance (Outa) said a lack of advertising was to blame for the "dismal" turnout of roughly 50 people in Kempton Park on Tuesday.

Wayne Duvenage, head of Outa, said the consultation sessions were poorly advertised. They were merely a case of the South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) "ticking a box", and the authorities had already made up their minds about implementing the system, he said.

Mr Duvenage said about 300 people attended Wednesday’s consultation in Pretoria. "Clearly the vast majority of people are angry and frustrated with the e-toll decision," he said. "They do not trust the authorities."

He added, however, that it was still important for members of the public to participate "so that authorities can see and feel the views of the people".

"They (the authorities) will have to report on this. We have seen how people feel and we must use these rare opportunities of engagement," he said.

At Wednesday’s consultation at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research in Pretoria, Yusuf Abramjee, head of news and current affairs at Primedia Broadcasting, spoke in his personal capacity as a resident of the city. He said alternative toll-free routes, including the R55, were not yet adequate substitutes for toll roads.

"We are aware that a section the R55 has been worked on but the 12km is a very small chunk of the road," he said.

At the Pretoria consultation, residents also expressed concern about cloned number plates and possible errors in Sanral’s data capturing systems.

But Sanral project manager Alex van Niekerk said e-tags could not be cloned and Sanral’s verification systems used the tags as well as number plates to identify vehicles.

Cosatu to announce date for mass action

Patrick Craven, spokesman for the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), said on Tuesday that the federation was angry that the content of the consultations was restricted, showing that the sessions were "a formality".

"I spoke to Outa and they confirmed what was in the news reports," he said. "It appears there was no real consultation. It seemed to restrict the consultation to the level of tariffs and not the principle of e-tolling. It appears the objection will have to move to mass action."

Mr Craven said Cosatu would soon announce a date for mass action against e-tolling.

A third public consultation will take place on Thursday at the Focus Rooms conference venue in Sunninghill, Sandton.

Neil Campbell, Democratic Alliance spokesman for roads and transport, said on Tuesday the venues for consultation were too far from townships such as Vosloorus and Mamelodi, where many residents used the freeways to get to work.

"The whole issue is that the urban people may pay but they can afford to," he said. "Some people from previously disadvantaged areas have no choice but to get on a highway to work. These people are not accommodated."

Mr Campbell also said many small-scale entrepreneurs made a living using their vehicles in Gauteng, but they were not accommodated in the gazetted proposals.

"They are discussing exempting taxis, but we are aware of many cases where businesses have to get around in bakkies and sell their services via a bakkie. These are not accommodated," he said.

Source :bdlive.co.za
Tags : finance,etoll, e-toll, e toll , etoll gazatte, etoll tarrifs, cosatu,sanral, outa