Deputy President Archives

ANC Must March on SANRAL

Following the Gauteng ANC’s march to Eskom on load-shedding last week, the DA calls on Chairperson Paul Mashatile to announce whether they will now march on SANRAL after yesterday’s e-tolls announcement.

The Gauteng ANC rejected e-tolls with much fanfare last October at their provincial congress.

They have since betrayed the people of Gauteng with a brand new enforcement strategy to ensure people across Gauteng pay e-tolls or face severe punishment.

Will the ANC again march against themselves for a problem they have created?

Cost-effective Alternative to E-tolls

The truth is there is a simple, cost-effective alternative to e-tolls. The only thing needed is political will for government to ring-fence a small portion of the fuel levy to pay for the freeway upgrades.

In 2013, Sanral’s Vusi Mona said that 17% of all tolls would go toward collection fees.

At a cap of R450 per vehicle per month, that would have translated into R76-50 per vehicle per month.

However, with the cap reduced to R225 per month, the R76-50 still needs to be collected, driving up the percentage collection rate up to 34% per vehicle per month.

Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Claims

If this ANC government is indeed a responsive and attentive government as Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa claims, it would long ago have realised that there is no need to resort to threats when cheaper and less complex methods of funding are available.

E-tolls are killing jobs and slowly strangling Gauteng’s economy, and ultimately, the rest of South Africa will pay the price.

People are opposed to e-tolls, and by resorting to jackboot tactics, the ANC government will only alienate them further.

The DA reiterates our call for a provincial referendum on e-tolls, asking the question: Do you want a small increase in fuel levies, free from expensive collection fees and government threats, or not?

Given the severe betrayal of the people by the Gauteng ANC, we believe allowing people to vote on e-tolls is the most effective way for fairness and justice to prevail.

Media enquiries:

John Moodey MPL

DA Gauteng Provincial Leader

082 960 3743

[Image source]

Unfair and Unjust System

Today Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to announce more ways to pay for e-tolls, instead of scrapping them altogether – despite the fact that less and less road users are willing to pay for this unfair and unjust system.

According to the National Department of Transport, since January there has been a dramatic drop in the number of people registering for e-tolls, as well as a steady decline in revenue collected.

This disproves the assertion by Premier Makhura and the e-toll review panel that people are not fundamentally opposed to paying tolls on Gauteng’s highways.

People are feeling the financial crunch of increases in municipal rates, electricity, petrol and income tax, and are simply not willing or able to pay e-tolls.

Stealth Methods to Pay for E-Tolls

Instead of scrapping e-tolls altogether, the ANC’s response is to introduce stealth methods hidden in licensing and other fees to force people to pay.

The fact is that the e-tolls system does not have the ability to cope and deal with debt collection, and the introduction of the hybrid model will further complicate an unsustainable system.

So while the economies of Gauteng and the country are reeling from the effects, and unemployment spirals out of control, Deputy President Ramaphosa and Premier Makhura are standing at a crossroad today.

They could act in the interests of the poor and working class by scrapping e-tolls altogether, or open a Pandora’s Box of civil disobedience and non-compliance on a scale never seen before.

The choice is theirs, and the consequences will be felt at the polls in 2016.