Government continues to meet with stakeholders around the contentious issue of e-tolling.
The inter-ministerial committee formed by Cabinet to assess e-tolling and the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP) on Friday met with religious leaders to discuss the matter.
Led by deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe, the committee engaged with the National Interfaith Council of SA and the National Religious Association for Social Development at the Union Buildings.
“The consultations are continuing and more meetings between government, key stakeholders and interested parties are planned for the coming weeks,” says the Government Communication and Information System.
Apart from this, government has given no indication of the direction the discussions took or the points raised during the engagement.
It only says that in the meeting, Motlanthe explained that the committee will brief Cabinet on the issues raised during the consultation process with a view to finding an amicable solution to the current challenges concerning the GFIP.
“Cabinet will consider all issues raised by the stakeholders in deciding on the way forward on the project.”
No half-toll
Government again stressed that the GFIP was conceived as part of a strategy to solve the problem of severe congestion on the Gauteng freeways.
However, opposition to the system says e-tolling is too cumbersome and costly a method to collect funds for the maintenance of roads and for the repayment of the R20 billion loan taken to complete the GFIP.
The committee met with Business Unity SA, the Southern African Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association and the Road Freight Association, and the Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance yesterday (OUTA) in June.
OUTA chairperson Wayne Duvenage said the association expects some positives to emerge from the discussions.
He added that the committee has, through the recent engagements, heard some issues and public concerns that it wasn't aware of before and wants to engage further on the matter.
“Nothing was agreed upon. There's still a difference of opinion.” Duvenage explains that government is still talking about e-tolling and OUTA is still rejecting it. So there's no solution on that as yet. “You can't half-toll. You either toll or you don't. We still say it's too expensive and inefficient.”
OUTA obtained an interdict against the implementation of e-tolling until the completion of a full judicial review. Government is currently appealing the interdict.
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