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'Not all of us are idiots'

Martin Czernowalow
By Martin Czernowalow, Contributor.
Johannesburg, 29 Aug 2014
Engineering body Cesa has been slammed for its views on e-tolling, with opponents saying it has a close relationship with Sanral.
Engineering body Cesa has been slammed for its views on e-tolling, with opponents saying it has a close relationship with Sanral.

Consulting Engineers South Africa (Cesa) has come under fire for its presentation to the e-tolls advisory panel, with opposition groups slamming the body for making up facts and trying to mislead the public and the panel.

The Justice Project SA (JPSA) and the Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance (Outa) both expressed outrage at Cesa and its contractual affairs manager, Wallace Mayne, who told the review panel that the fuel levy would not be an effective means of funding the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project.

Mayne argued the current user-pay principle is the best way to fund the project, saying e-tolling is the only "realistic" funding option for the province's roads, against the backdrop of a severely stretched fiscus.

Thus far, labour unions and business organisations have rejected e-tolling in its current form, with some calling for e-tolling to be scrapped entirely, to others, who advocate a switchover to the national fuel levy as a means of funding.

Cesa has so far been the only interested party to come out in support of e-tolling and to argue against the fuel levy option. The body represents more than 500 consulting engineering firms, some of which were contracted by the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project.

Vested interest

However, its presentation has been strongly rejected by JPSA and Outa, both of which argue Cesa has a vested interest to support the South African National Roads Agency (Sanral). "Their stance is not surprising. They have a vested interest, as they secure a lot of work from Sanral. We didn't really expect them to come out against e-tolling," says JPSA chairman Howard Dembovsky.

However, Dembovsky was especially scathing of the "facts" presented by Mayne, who claimed the fuel levy merely serves to spread the burden among the entire population. Mayne also stated it would be unrealistic of Gauteng to expect fuel levy funding to filter down to road infrastructure, as historically, fuel levy funds had been diverted elsewhere.

"With all due respect, when trying to put your point across, please stick to the facts. Don't make up your own facts as you go along," says Dembovsky, alleging that Wallace was off by about R24.5 billion in terms of the fuel levy amount collected in 2013.

"Please do not try to mislead the public and the panel. Not all of us are complete fools," says Dembovsky, adding the body of consulting engineers does a lot of consulting, which makes Cesa's stance unsurprising. However, he accused the body of having "lost touch with reality".

Dembovsky says he will respond to the points raised by Cesa in his presentation on Monday.

Close relationship

Outa chairperson Wayne Duvenage was equally critical of Cesa's position. "Sanral and the engineering fraternity have a close relationship," he says.

Duvenage says Outa has repeatedly approached the Engineering Council of South Africa to unpack the costs of freeway construction in Gauteng, but has had no satisfactory response.

He also took issue with Cesa's assertion that e-tolling has helped to ease congestion on Gauteng's freeways, saying this is blatantly untrue. "E-tolls have not eased congestion; the construction and expansion of roads infrastructure has eased congestion."

Commenting on yesterday's presentation by the Black Business Council, which also opposed e-tolling, Duvenage says it was encouraging to see big business take a stance against the system.

The SA Transport and Allied Workers Union yesterday charged that e-tolling was harmful to the poor and the working class, who are already burdened by the high cost of living.

Today, Business Unity South Africa is expected to present its arguments on e-tolling before the panel. The 15-member advisory panel was established by Gauteng premier David Makhura to review the socio-economic impact of the e-tolling system.

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