The fight against e-tolling is set to continue this week, when the Pretoria High Court hears the Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance's (Outa's) application to appeal against implementation of the government-run system.
On Friday, Outa's application seeking leave to appeal judge Louis Vorster's December judgement, that e-tolling may legally proceed, will be heard in the North Gauteng High Court.
The alliance believes the judgement was "seriously flawed" and the court's order that Outa pay the legal costs of the application was "unnecessarily onerous".
Outa chairperson Wayne Duvenage says the civil society body has a stronger case than ever against what it believes will be an unjust, illegal and inefficient system should e-tolling go ahead.
"Outa remains committed to this case, which largely seeks to protect citizens' constitutional rights, along with challenging the onerous, expensive, inefficient and cumbersome matters related to the decision to toll Gauteng's freeways."
In a public statement yesterday, Outa called for the recommendations made to Cabinet by the inter-ministerial committee (IMC) to be made public. The alliance previously clamoured for transparency - last year when the IMC took the decision for the SA National Roads Agency (Sanral) to proceed with e-toll implementation, saying the committee had closed its eyes to the public's outcry.
Meanwhile, Outa's legal costs are mounting. While a fund raising campaign is under way, the alliance is still R2.5 million short in terms of covering current costs - with an additional R1.5 million needed for the appeal process.
"We are heartened by the fact that society has helped us raise R8 million to date; however, we are still short. We urge the public to go to the Outa Web site to make their contribution."
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