The SA National Roads Agency (Sanral) is waiting in the wings for the general elections to pass before taking a hard-line with e-toll evaders, as the agency previously undertook to do, alleges the Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance (Outa).
However, this has not been confirmed by Sanral.
Outa says various sources - including Sanral - indicate the agency will shortly take a two-pronged "carrot and stick" approach to recovering the e-toll fees that are tied up in the Violations Processing Centre.
"After five months of Sanral's e-toll collection failure, Outa is anticipating the commencement of its long-threatened sanctions against the million-plus motorists who have not paid their e-toll bills, yet continue to assert their right to use the Gauteng freeways as public infrastructure," says Outa spokesperson John Clarke.
Clarke says despite transport minister Dipuo Peters' vow in parliament that Sanral would not use criminal prosecution against e-toll evaders, Outa has learnt Sanral is "impatient to commence with a 'big carrots and large stick' tactic in earnest".
Double lure
According to what Outa chairperson Wayne Duvenage says are various sources, Sanral is expected to offer sizeable discounts - ostensibly of up to 60% ? on all past unpaid e-toll bills, on condition that the road-user promptly pays the discounted bill and gets tagged.
"We advise motorists not to be intimidated by fear or seduced by sweeteners. No regulatory system can possibly be sustained by treating people that are expected to finance the system as if they are criminals or stubborn mules," says Duvenage.
Secondly, says Outa, sources have revealed the roads agency will also threaten to action its mobile units to identify "known violators" and escort them off the freeways, possibly charging them via law enforcement officers.
Clarke says the "behaviour modification" methods, previously proposed and now expected to be implemented by Sanral, "only work with real criminal offenders who have anti-social and sociopathic personality disorders, which is a general profile that does not fit any of the few thousands of complainants we have interacted with over the past five months".
Violations centre
Shortly before e-tolling went live on 3 December, Sanral spokesperson Vusi Mona said the roads agency had a "very clear enforcement strategy" in place.
"The fact is that we will commence tolling by using the Criminal Procedures Act as the legislative framework. We have a process in place which will help us manage non-compliance in terms of e-tolling. Once we have exhausted this process, a summons will be issued under the Criminal Procedures Act."
At the time, he said mobile enforcement units with traffic officers will be stationed at on- and off-ramps, as well as roaming Gauteng's e-roads, to "enforce outstanding infringements".
Chairperson of Justice Project SA Howard Dembovsky said at the time that Mona's assertion did not present a process that was entirely unlawful, but it was likely to see Sanral getting "sued blind" for unlawful arrest.
Neither Sanral, nor the Department of Transport had responded to request for comment by the time of publication.
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