The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) will lodge a formal complaint with the chairman of the Parliamentary portfolio committee on transport as well as the Parliamentary ethics committee, following a "misleading" e-tolls statement released by the committee.
Outa (formerly known as the Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance) is at blows with the portfolio committee on transport, after it released a statement which says: "Outa is not opposed to e-tolling as people need to pay in order to have good road infrastructure."
Wayne Duvenage, chairperson of the civil rights organisation, has rubbished this statement and will seek an apology and retraction of misleading elements in the statement.
Duvenage says it's disappointing the committee would stoop to this level of fabrication in an attempt to try and inject some degree of legitimacy into the defunct scheme. "This is utter misinformation and spin-doctoring at its worst."
On Tuesday, Outa made a presentation in Parliament to the transport committee regarding the "failed e-toll scheme", and why it ought to be scrapped.
According to Duvenage, during his presentation he stated Outa was not opposed to the fact that all infrastructure must ultimately be paid for by society.
Duvenage told the committee that Outa supported the user-pay principle but there was a lack of consultation when the e-tolling system was introduced, hence Outa stood opposed to e-tolling. "I made this point so as to dispel the myth and comments often directed at us, that 'Outa wants the roads for free', which is clearly not the case."
He adds: "I then proceeded to present a 30-slide overview of why the e-toll scheme has failed and our views as to why this is so, along with our opinion that the fuel levy made sense as an alternative to fund the Gauteng freeway upgrade. I ended the presentation with two important points, the first of which was that following all the reasons and facts presented, the e-toll scheme should be halted."
However, a statement issued by the portfolio committee claimed the complete opposite of Duvenage's presentation. The statement says: "Outa is not opposed to e-tolling as people need to pay in order to have good road infrastructure."
In the statement, the committee's acting chairperson, Leonard Ramatlakane, welcomed Outa's position and said there seemed to be general agreement on the necessity for improved and well-maintained infrastructure.
"Infrastructure investment, particularly roads, is indeed critical. The issue of consultations is open for discussions as a number of them happened in Gauteng over a period of time. The [Gauteng] premier was involved at some point as well as the deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa. If the claim is that they were not adequate, then Outa should be clear in making that case," said Ramatlakane.
On Wednesday morning, however, the portfolio committee issued another media notice on behalf of Ramatlakane, where it retracted its previous statement and acknowledged it as incorrect.
The committee wishes to rectify an error in its statement issued yesterday (Tuesday), following a meeting with Outa, reads the statement.
"It was erroneously stated Outa was not opposed to e-tolling. The committee acknowledges and regrets this error. Outa is not opposed to the user-pay principle, but has issue with the method of collection which in this case is e-tolling," says the statement.
Share