The South African Roads Agency (Sanral) says although no one has ever come forward with proof that people are being forced to register for e-tolling, such actions would be illegal.
In a statement issued this morning, the agency says an independent investigation, conducted earlier this year, found there was no evidence to support any of the claims made, which have since re-emerged, that Sanral staff had conducted roadblocks and threatened motorists on highways in Johannesburg and Pretoria, or at any other location.
Sanral says that if anyone is stopped and forced to register for e-tolling, or for any reason that is e-toll-related at this stage, this would be illegal and should be reported to the authorities "because Sanral is not carrying out any such enforcement actions".
Recently, a hoax e-mail has been doing the rounds, purportedly from a ward councillor, Andre du Plessis. It urges people to be careful on the highways as e-tolling staff are "stopping people randomly all over Jozi and PTA threatening people to register for the toll gates".
The e-mail tells people not to hand over their driver's licence as the card will not be returned until they register.
Earlier this year, a probe undertaken by auditing firm Deloitte found that previous claims that there was a forced registration roadblock on the N3, at Linksfield Road, or at any other point, could not be backed up, as no witnesses came forward.
"Despite the calls for witnesses and information, no one has ever contacted the investigators with evidence relevant to the alleged roadblocks. It was accordingly concluded that the allegations remained unsubstantiated."
Government has said the controversial e-tolling project is going ahead, despite a looming court battle, and implementation will begin just before Christmas.
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