The Justice Project SA (JPSA) has hit out at the Department of Transport (DOT) and SA National Roads Agency (Sanral), saying they need to get clarity from the courts on e-toll tariffs and the legislation around their Gazette slip-up.
Word wars over government's open road tolling system in Gauteng are heating up as e-tolling enters its third week of being financially operational - and it is civil groups against government.
While the Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance (Outa) has been at loggerheads with Sanral for almost two years now, JPSA entered the ring with the Department of Transport this week over an error in its gazetted e-toll tariffs and regulations document.
Having brought the issue to transport minister Dipuo Peters' attention and seemingly being snubbed by a generic media statement from the DOT, JPSA has lashed out at the department. National JPSA chairman Howard Dembovsky says the DOT's response "acutely highlights the contempt or disrespect with which [it] and Sanral have treated the public, and not properly addressed or clarified reasonable legal questions that have been posed to them by us in the interests of the general public".
Moot mistake
Dembovsky has issued a media statement castigating what he believes is contemptuous behaviour on the DOT and Sanral's part.
"While the media release sent out by the [department] apparently seeks to trivialise the 'mistakes' made in the Afrikaans version of the e-toll tariff Gazette, it does not justify the legal position for them to simply say 'the noted mistake in question won't affect the validity of the legislation'."
He says the public requires legal certainty over the issue - something only a court can now give. Dembovsky adds that, in the past, where "mistakes" have been noticed in government Gazette notices subsequent to their publication - in particular those issued by the DOT - such Gazettes have been repealed and the relevant retraction notices issued. "It seems, however, that everything surrounding e-tolls has not been afforded the same treatment."
He says there is sufficient Constitutional Court case law to suggest the DOT's claim that the Gazette mistake has no legal bearing "is not founded in law, but in their opinion and desire to wish away their mistakes".
He says now it is up to the DOT and Sanral to approach the High Court to ratify their claim in the form of a Declaratory Order. "By doing so, the court will get the opportunity to confirm their assertions and the presumption - or not."
The DOT has not responded to any of ITWeb's requests for comment.
Ongoing bout
Meanwhile, the ongoing wrangle between Sanral and Outa shows no signs of abating.
Sanral has responded to Outa's call for the agency to allow screen information to be accessed by the media and the auditor general, with the purpose of validating the 900 000 e-tag figure the state-owned entity has claimed, saying its communication to the public will not be prescribed by "baiting statements" made by Outa.
Sanral spokesperson Vusi Mona says it is clear from the alliance's statements that Outa is "digging for information contained in the e-toll system".
"One can only speculate that it is for commercial reasons as the knowledge of how many vehicles have registered and how many haven't is of no use to the ordinary public. But it may well be useful for Outa's objectives - commercial or otherwise."
Mona says the fact that Sanral has had various media visits to its Central Operating Centre "shows the transparency within which it operates".
He says Sanral is now running in a live environment and information on the agency's clients is protected by law. "When Sanral releases figures, it sources the data from the e-toll system that displays customer details. Is Outa now asking Sanral to break the law in order for them to prove or disprove their statements or to calculate how many potential clients they can gain for the court process and the money collecting scheme they recently launched?"
Sanral says it will continue to share information it deems meaningful and relevant with the public through the media.
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