Opponents of the e-tolling system in Gauteng have cautioned against breaking out the champagne just yet, despite the ANC in the province urging the system be scrapped and the fuel levy used to fund infrastructure upgrades.
Speaking at the opening of the ANC Gauteng provincial elective conference on Friday, ANC Gauteng chairperson Paul Mashatile expressed his opposition to e-tolling.
This was echoed by secretary Hope Papo, who read a declaration calling for e-tolls to be reconsidered. "The current system is too expensive, traffic flows have been negatively affected. We would rather have a fuel levy," he said.
This marks a significant departure from the government's previous insistence that e-tolls would not be scrapped and that the user-pay principle would remain. Last month, transport minister Dipuo Peters also dismissed the idea of considering the fuel levy, even as a panel established by Gauteng premier David Makhura, to probe the socio-economic impact of the e-tolls, was hearing presentations from business and civic groups. These parties were almost unanimous in their support for the fuel levy switch.
While the ANC in Gauteng's about-turn has brought hope the system would finally be scrapped, Justice Project SA chairperson Howard Dembovsky cautions that celebrating victory at this stage would be disingenuous.
"Winning a skirmish does not spell victory in the war," he says, adding the ANC's Gauteng resolutions would only be tabled in June next year.
"A lot can happen in that time. Sanral [South African National Roads Agency], as we know, is a loose cannon and can be unpredictable."
Dembovsky says while e-tolling is essentially "dead", Gauteng citizens should be wary of underhand tactics by the agency. Sanral has a well-documented record of heavy-handed behaviour and intimidation to force compliance with e-tolling, he argues.
"E-tolls are on life-support and someone must just wake up and pull the plug. But, in the meantime, know your enemy," he says.
Sanral this morning acknowledged it had received questions from ITWeb, but did not reply by the time of publication.
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