The Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance (Outa) may have abandoned the court room for the battle ground, but legal combat against government's controversial e-toll system is far from over - as political parties come in from the wings and launch their own offensives.
Both the Democratic Alliance (DA) and Freedom Front Plus (FF+) are about to take legal action in an attempt to halt open road tolling in Gauteng - details of which will be outlined at two separate media briefings this morning, in Johannesburg and Cape Town, respectively.
Mmusi Maimane, DA national spokesperson and premier candidate for Gauteng, says the party plans to challenge the constitutionality of legislation that will introduce e-tolling in Gauteng. "This could have far-reaching consequences for its rollout in the province."
Maimane will address the media at 11:30am, in Rosebank, Johannesburg, this morning.
Bill of fights
The Transport Laws and Related Matters Amendment Bill - known widely as the e-toll Bill - was previously positioned by the SA National Roads Agency and Department of Transport as the last hurdle standing in the way of e-tolls going live. After much debate and to-and-froing of the piece of legislation, president Jacob Zuma finally gave it his signature on 21 September.
Advocate Anton Alberts, FF+ Parliamentary spokesperson on transport, has long held that the e-toll Bill is unconstitutional.
In June this year, Alberts called on Zuma to reject the Bill, based on what he saw as "certain shortcomings". At the time, the FF+ claimed the Bill was classified incorrectly as a Section 75 Bill, which does not affect provinces.
SA's Constitution distinguishes between four categories of Bills, namely Section 74 Bills (Bills amending the Constitution); Section 75 Bills (ordinary Bills not affecting the provinces); Section 76 Bills (ordinary Bills affecting the provinces); and Section 77 Bills (money Bills dealing with appropriations, taxes, levies or duties).
Alberts believes the e-toll Bill should actually have been classified as a section 76 Bill, and "in all probability" also classified as a partial section 77 Bill.
The FF+ says, together with commercial farmers' union TAU SA, the National Taxpayers Association and the SA Federation for Caravans and Camping Clubs, it will launch a court application to have the e-toll Bill declared unconstitutional next week. The application will be brought in the North Gauteng High Court.
A media briefing will be held this morning at 9:30am at the party's offices in Parliament, where more details will be released.
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