The Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance (Outa) says regardless if it wins or loses its appeal in court this week, e-tolls will fail when rejected by the public.
This is according to Outa chairman Wayne Duvenage, ahead of the alliance's appeal against Gauteng e-tolls, which is being heard in the Supreme Court of Appeal, in Bloemfontein, today.
Duvenage says he is feeling positive and believes that in the word of the law, its case is extremely strong. "It's a matter of interpretation and technicalities and other factors that come into play [to determine] whether you get the judges in your favour or not," he says. "Win or lose in court, this matter really has to fail the test of the public court out there. If society rejects [e-tolls] in the way they've made it very clear they will, then e-tolling will fail."
Outa is appealing the judgement passed down by judge Louis Vorster in December last year, arguing the judgement misinterpreted an earlier ruling of the Constitutional Court. Two days have been set aside for the matter, during which judges will hear the heads of argument from Outa and government bodies (the SA National Roads Agency Limited, Department of Transport, and National Treasury).
"The first day in court gives one an understanding of where the judges' minds are. They have read the heads or argument and will be questioning the various legal teams," says Duvenage. He expects judgement to only be delivered in a couple of weeks.
Costly affair
In June, Outa appealed to the public for financial assistance so it could raise the funds it needed to prepare for its appeal. The call drew a massive response from the public, with around R540 000 donated in less than 48 hours, following an Outa press conference. The Democratic Alliance (DA) quickly came on board, contributing another R1 million needed to pay legal costs.
Duvenage says the organisation was promptly questioned, especially by Sanral, for accepting money from a political party, but says it is a political matter. "It's being fought in Parliament, it's being fought by the DA and every other political party opposing the ANC."
Outa's fight against e-tolls has been a costly affair so far, despite advocates reducing their costs and working numerous hours for free. The current estimated costs are more than R12 million, with the case being funded entirely by the public and business entities.
Forging ahead
Transport minister Dipuo Peters recently responded to a parliamentary question regarding the commencement date for e-tolls from Freedom Front Plus (FF+) spokesperson Anton Alberts, saying: "The Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP) will still be implemented in 2013; however, the date for the commencement of the tolling has not been determined."
A number of observers, including Duvenage, Alberts and DA shadow minister of transport Ian Ollis, have said it is highly unlikely that e-tolls will go live this year.
The FF+ said earlier this month that the e-toll Bill remains unsigned, because president Jacob Zuma's legal advisors suspect the piece of legislation is unconstitutional. At the same time, the Department of Transport released a statement saying Sanral is technically ready to implement e-tolling, and that motorists should get tagged in preparation for the launch.
Share