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Government 'lied' about tolling fees

Nicola Mawson
By Nicola Mawson, Contributor.
Johannesburg, 31 Aug 2011

The Department of Transport (DOT) has been accused of misrepresenting the Gauteng e-tolling fee structure, to make it seem like government has conceded to a bigger discount than it actually has.

Earlier this month, Cabinet green-lighted reduced tariffs for e-tolling in Gauteng, stamping its approval on recommendations made by the DOT's steering committee, in June.

The controversial e-toll system, which allows tolls to be charged without drivers having to stop, is expected to be implemented over the next five months.

However, non-profit justice lobby group Justice Project SA argues that government's statement around the reduced fees is misleading.

National chairman Howard Dembovsky argues that the department's statement, issued the day after Cabinet sanctioned the proposed fees, only refers to the discounted e-tag rate, and does not explain that drivers without the tag will pay a higher rate.

The statement, issued by deputy transport minister Jeremy Cronin, states motorcycles will pay 24c/km, light vehicles will be charged 40c/km, medium vehicles 100c/km, while 'longer vehicles' in class C will pay 200c/km. Taxis and buses are exempt from paying fees.

However, Cronin's statement did not stipulate that these charges only applied to drivers who buy e-tags, and benefit from a discounted rate structure.

The department has denied misleading the public by leaving the information out of the statement, saying it was clarified during a briefing.

In the previous announcement, made by the steering committee in June, the department clarified that the rates were only applicable to people with e-tags. However, DG George Mahlalela pointed out “that no final decision has been made on the tariffs”.

Before being implemented, the tariffs had to be sanctioned by Cabinet, says transport spokesman Logan Maistry. “Anything before that becomes irrelevant.”

The South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) says the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project statement only stated the discounted e-tag rates as it expects most Gauteng e-road users to make use of this option.

Deliberately misleading?

Dembovsky argues that omitting the fact that these charges are the discounted rates is tantamount to lying to the public. “It's an outright lie... They didn't specify anything.”

The initial e-tolling announcement referred to the rate without the e-tag discount, says Dembovsky. He argues not clarifying that the announced rates were linked to the tags is a deliberate tactic to make the rates sound cheaper.

Dembovsky points out that the undiscounted fee is actually 58c a km, not 40c as indicated in the release.

Previously, government indicated the full rate was to be 66c/km for light motor vehicles, but when the latest rates were announced, the discounted e-tag amount of 40c/km was quoted, making it appear that the rate had come down by about 39%, says Dembovsky.

“In fact, the rate has come down by no more than 12% and the true rate for light motor vehicles is 58c/km for those who do not have e-tags,” argues Dembovsky.

Maistry says the department held a press briefing on the same day that the statement was issued at which it clarified the different prices. He points out that the final calculations were audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte and the auditor-general.

“The Cabinet decision stands; there is no misrepresentation, as far as I am aware, in the final announcement,” says Maistry.

Sanral notes that it was made clear that the rates cited were the discounted fees. “No statement made by Cabinet, DOT or media enquiries responded to by Sanral compared the percentage reduction in toll tariffs,” it states.

Public consultation

The initial rate of 66c/km led to a public outcry and transport minister Sibusiso Ndebele suspended implementation of e-tolling in Gauteng in February to allow for further engagement and consultation.

As a result, the department set up a steering committee to review the proposed toll tariffs. The committee's report was presented to stakeholders at the end of June and the final report was presented to Cabinet after additional feedback.

At the end of June, Mahlalela said: “We have listened to and taken on board what stakeholders said, and now are in a position to make our recommendations.” He added that the “steering committee investigated the proposals made by all stakeholders, as well as all other options to revise the toll tariffs and make it more affordable”.

However, Dembovsky argues the public consultation process was not transparent enough and was a farce. “In other words, 'talk to us, we are not listening anyway',” he alleges.

The Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) has also lashed out at the department's consultation process. In a statement issued recently by spokesman Patrick Craven, the congress said “the promised consultations never happened”.

“Cosatu, which by anyone's definition is a stakeholder, has never been consulted, but simply informed that the tolling is going ahead.”

Craven said the tolls will lead to big price increases in the shops to cover the increased cost of transporting goods. He pointed out that “some companies may even be forced to close down and retrench workers because of their increased transport costs”.

Maistry says all parties were consulted during the process.

Sanral adds: “An extensive consultation process was undertaken, during the planning phase of the project, during the intent to toll process as well as the extended public consultation process initiated by the minister of transport in February this year.”

To read the original DOT statement click here

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