Mass e-toll resentment boils over

The public outcry around government's e-toll system looks set to escalate.

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The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has negated the Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance's (Outa's) appeal against government's e-tolls system.

The tariffs that will become law have been published and the Department of Transport is about to announce a start date for the system.

However, South Africans remain resolute in their never-say-die opposition to it.

Yesterday saw e-tolls dominate media headlines and online forums, as Outa's last-ditch attempt to halt the system it believes is unjust and irrational was blown out of the water, along with the remaining hopes of many Gauteng motorists.

But neither Outa, nor public and political groups opposed to e-tolls, are taking it lying down. Thousands of individuals, Agang, the Democratic Alliance (DA), Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) and the Freedom Front Plus (FF+) have all vowed to keep the fires of the fight against e-tolls burning.

Agang, the new political party on the block, says e-tolls still have to pass the test of society's support - "and all indications are that they will fail".

Communications director Thabo Leshilo says the party is disappointed in the SCA's rejection of Outa's application - but "this is not the end of the road". He says opposition to what Agang sees as a wasteful, unpopular scheme will continue to grow.

"The groundswell of opposition to the e-toll plan does not mean resistance to [having to pay for] infrastructure development. However, Gauteng's freeways are SA's freeways and the benefits of improved efficiencies within the province accrue to all regions."

FF+ Parliamentary spokesperson on transport, advocate Anton Alberts, says the party will do what it can to burst the tyres of government's e-toll plan. "The struggle against the ANC government's apparent desperate attempt to enforce the contentious e-toll system is still not a thing of the past."

Alberts says the party will contest the e-toll Act in the High Court as it is "unconstitutional". He says the public should also keep up the fight, and not lose hope - as Outa still has the option of turning to the Constitutional Court. He urges the public not to buy e-tags as "it is not a legal requirement".

Vocal union Cosatu, meanwhile, maintains its stance of opposition and will stick to its tactic of public protest - even shifting it up a gear. Cosatu national spokesperson Patrick Craven says the SCA's decision "will make no difference to Cosatu's unwavering campaign against this attempt to privatise our public highways".

He says the union firmly believes public opposition is mounting, if anything, and is confident people's power will ultimately convince the government to abandon its e-toll plan.

Meanwhile, Andr'e Venter, spokesman for trade union Uasa, argues e-tolling will be the straw that breaks workers' backs. "Implementation of the e-tolling system will add to inflationary pressures in the long run because workers will have less disposable income, while the cost of manufacturing is set to rise as a result."

Venter says, in a statement, that: "The way South African citizens are ignored by government is shocking. Despite massive resistance to e-tolling, government simply pushes ahead." The union says the fight is now in the hands of the people.

Meanwhile, in the virtual court of public opinion - notably Facebook and Twitter - government's e-toll system has been severely slammed.

#ProudlyBroughtByANC and #ETolls have dominated Twitter's SA Trends bar this week, with the latter currently topping the list.

From outright refusal to buy e-tags - to threats of anarchy and arson of the 49 gantries that now personify mass resentment - the online public is saying loud and clear: "No to e-tolls!"

A general tone of hostility is to be found on most online forums. One ITWeb reader says: "The ANC government are getting richer and poor are getting poorer..... they are playing with fire and they are going to get burned [sic]."

Another rants: "Come South Africans who are tired of this daylight robbery .... Let's blow up these freakin gantries!!! There is plenty of extremely high grade copper cabling in these units for the entrepreneurial man to resell!! If you call yourself a SA citizen then show SANRAL and every other person who has a personal gain out of stealing from us! [sic]"

Commentators are seemingly spurring each other on, calling for solidarity - saying the nation should stand together and fight open-road tolling in Gauteng to the bitter end.

SA National Roads Agency spokesperson Vusi Mona says not all law is popular - but by nature it must be heeded and obeyed.

DOT spokesperson Tiyani Rikhotso hints at double standards by those opposing the system. "When people went to the court we thought they did so because they have confidence in the institution, but little did we know that only when the finding is in their favour do they [have that trust in the judicial system]. It is unfortunate that people want to undermine the outcome of the very court that they approached.

"To those who are instigating people of the public to disobey the law, [we say] such actions are aggressive and they are taking us back as a nation - this is not going to help us. We are calling on the public to ignore calls for civil disobedience. SA is a nation of law-abiding citizens. They cannot all of a sudden wake up in October and change [this attitude].

"Then there are those who are saying that buying an e-tag is not a legal requirement. What we are saying is, buying an e-tag will allow for discounts to be taken advantage of. Those who are calling on people not to get e-tags are the ones who want to make them poorer."

Meanwhile, in a statement issued this morning, Cabinet welcomed the imminent implementation of tolling, arguing that the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project has already benefited the province and the country, and will continue to do so.

"The e-tolling system is one aspect of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project which has enhanced the movement of people and goods and will make the provincial and national economy more efficient into the future," notes the post-Cabinet meeting statement.

Cabinet adds the tariffs have been reduced in response to public comment, poor passengers have been taken care of through the exemption of public transport operators from paying toll fees, a monthly payment cap has been introduced, and a rebate system exists for transport companies.

However, the Government Gazette shows the tariffs are still at the same cost per kilometres as they were in August 2011, a decrease from the February 2011 costs, which followed steering committee deliberations.

Outa will provide feedback on the court ruling this morning at a press briefing.

Gazetted tariffs for cars in class A2

The amounts detailed below per gantry work out to an average of 58c/km, the same as the August 2011 figures. This is for motorists without a tag.

Discounts (frequent user, time of day and grace-period for alternate users) apply if tolls are paid in seven days. The total amount of discounts cannot be more than the amount of toll due, and the monthly threshold has been dropped to R400.