With just two days left for the public to submit comments on the Gauteng e-toll tariffs gazetted by the SA National Roads Agency (Sanral) last month, the Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance (Outa) is urging citizens to tell government what they think.
This, says Outa, despite the fact that government has never heeded or provided feedback on commentary the public has submitted on its open road tolling project in the past.
"The Department of Transport (DOT) has invited the public to comment on the e-toll tariffs, closing date 8 November. We believe it is important for society to respond to this request, despite the fact that they never provided feedback or a summary of submissions when citizens provided feedback on these rates posted for comment in November 2012."
Last year, when a similar process was undertaken just prior to what was supposed to be the commencement of the system, Sanral said public commentary would not sway government's e-toll plans. Spokesperson Vusi Mona said the submissions would be "considered in relation to the content of the final regulations and notices".
At the time, Sanral failed to answer questions around where the submissions would end up - or whether the public would be able to access these.
Have your say
Outa chairman Wayne Duvenage says opinions on e-toll tariffs must be made known.
Last month, as part of the roads agency's obligation set before it can switch on the 49 e-toll gantries across Gauteng, the DOT published Gazette No 36912, which outlines toll tariffs for the different categories of road users and classes of vehicles.
"Interested persons are invited to submit written comments on the notice to the director-general of the DOT within 30 days from the date of publication (9 October)."
This is followed by incomplete contact details for the DG and DOT: Attention of THM Mphahlele, e-mail tariff@dot.gov.za, Tel 012 309 3481, Fax 012 309 3134, or the DOT at Private Bag x193, Pretoria, 0001 - but no e-mail address is provided for the department.
Sanral failed to respond by the time of publication and, as such, it is unclear what bearing submissions will have on e-toll tariffs - or the system at large - or whether the submissions will be will shared with the public.
Evasive engagement
Since its inception in March 2012, Outa has maintained that Sanral and the DOT - essentially the state's entities responsible for e-tolling - have failed to carry out meaningful public engagement exercises. While government has said repeatedly that it followed all due process in the process, and the High Court has deemed e-tolling legal, the court of public opinion begs to differ.
This week, president Jacob Zuma said in an address to the National Council of Provinces that South Africans want to continuously be engaged, and that they have strong views on how they should be governed. He also spoke of authorities being "accountable to their communities" and a need for "effective public engagement".
Drawing a parallel between this and the seeming lack of public engagement since the conception of e-tolling to pay for Gauteng's highway upgrades, Duvenage says he is "left deflated when it comes to action displayed by authorities in this regard".
Although Gauteng has seen six missed deadlines for e-toll implementation since April 2012, transport minister Dipuo Peters is adamant the latest deadline - before the end of this year - will be met.
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