Transport minister Ben Martins and SA National Roads Agency (Sanral) must not have carte blanche when it comes to making decisions on e-tolling.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) say this is what will happen if the Transport Laws and Related Matters Amendment (TLRMA) Bill, which has been dubbed the "E-toll Bill", goes ahead as it stands.
Martins was criticised by the official opposition earlier this month when he put through amendments to the Bill without first referring them to Parliament. However, the Department of Transport (DOT) says no regulation amendments were published without going through the correct processes and in accordance with the applicable guidelines.
Cabinet then approved the TLRMA Bill, 2012, for submission to Parliament.
Full power
DA shadow transport minister Ian Ollis says the Bill has serious flaws. “The DA has serious reservations about the content of this Bill and its likely efficacy, and will ask for changes in three key areas when the Bill is tabled in Parliament in the third term of 2012.”
He says the first problem is that the Bill omits a clause which the transport portfolio committee had inserted into the National Road Traffic Act and Regulations (NRTAR) (Chapter XIII, clause 6).
“This clause clearly states that, before the minister makes any regulation, he must first provide a draft of the proposed regulations to be referred to Parliament for comment.
“In the new 'E-Toll Bill', there is no such requirement. This Bill will, therefore, give the minister, in conjunction with Sanral, carte blanche when it comes to imposing and gazetting new tariffs, creating new methods for collecting fees and prosecuting non-payers, without any political oversight.”
Proof burden
The Bill also has too many presumptions, according to Ollis. He explains that section 59a (4) of the Act says: “Wherein any prosecution in terms of this Act it is alleged that an offence was committed on a toll road, the road concerned shall, in absence of evidence to the contrary, be presumed to be a toll road."
Ollis says this places too much of the burden of proof - for a range of possible offences - on the motorist being prosecuted for alleged offences. “This was never required for conventional toll roads in SA, why should this be required for the e-toll?”
Price please
Lastly, Ollis says provisions of the National Credit Act (2005) should be applicable to the levying or collecting of tolls in terms of the Act. The problem with not applying these provisions is that there is no requirement for Sanral or the DOT to publish all the applicable levies on the billboards and marketing materials of the e-toll road system.
“Without the full list of levies being published on billboards, and in the absence of the protection of the National Credit Act, the out-of-town motorist who may occasionally use the Gauteng freeways, will not be aware how much he or she is paying to drive on the toll road. In the absence of boom gates where inquiries can be made, this will mean that the user will have no clue as to the costs involved in his/her use of the road.”
Ollis also says that, in the test phase, Sanral only published the lowest tariffs applicable to e-tag subscribers on their billboards in Gauteng and not the remainder of the tariffs which are “exorbitant”.
“There is, therefore, no practical way for the motorist who does not have an e-tag to be informed of the increased pricing that they will be liable for, without a study of the government gazette.”
E-toll essential
“The Bill has been necessitated by the development of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP), as well as future plans for the development of road infrastructure,” said a Cabinet statement.
“Apart from the physical infrastructure, the GFIP will result in the operation of a road network that involves the utilisation of 'intelligent' transport systems. An important component of the network is the electronic toll collection system.”
The Cabinet statement said the Bill is essential to enable the implementation of the e-toll system.
Sanral readiness
The Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance (OUTA) is challenging the e-toll system in court due to, among other issues, the excessive operational costs involved.
An interdict was granted against the implementation of the system, pending the outcome of a full judicial review.
The date of 26 November has been set down for the full review hearing of the e-tolling case to take place, according to OUTA.
On 15 August, the Constitutional Court heard National Treasury's appeal against the interdict. No judgement has as yet been made. OUTA argued that, among other issues, Sanral is not ready to implement e-tolling since it has not formalised the exemptions promised to public transport vehicles by government. The TLRMA Bill does not address this.
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