Sanral to blame for e-toll terrorism: Outa
Outa has hit back at comments made by Gauteng MEC of transport, Ismail Vadi, who said that opponents to e-tolling are partially responsible for the recent spate of threats against Sanral.
The South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) has suffered a string of threats and false calls at its operations office in Midrand – two of which involved an unidentified white powder, initially feared to be anthrax.
On Thursday (30 January), the South African police’s special unit, the Hawks, made a breakthrough in the case, and arrested a 28-year-old Soweto man, who, according to Sanral, worked for a service provider on the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP).
Sanral denied that the man was one of its employees.
In a statement released on Friday (31 January) Outa spokesman John Clarke said the group was “shocked” at the MEC’s comments, saying that “it’s preposterous to blame the many movements who’s mounting legitimate calls to halt e-tolling” for the behaviour of a Sanral-linked employee.
“In fact it is the shocking behavior of meaningless public engagement processes, incorrect invoicing and intimidation of the public by Sanral and their suppliers that is out of line with normal and expected business compliance and behavior,” Clarke said.
The spokesman said that any negative consequences and outcomes relating to the e-toll debacle can only be put squarely at the feet of Sanral.
Clarke added that the group was appalled at Sanral’s attempts to distance itself from the perpetrator, saying that, while he may not have been directly linked to Sanral, he was still an employee of its system.
“The person worked on their site and he was internally linked to their system, so trying to fob this off as someone else’s problem is ludicrous to say the least,” he said.
Case struck off the roll
The case against the man arrested in connection with acts of terrorism against Sanral was struck off the roll in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Friday.
The man was the only one left in the holding cell when Magistrate Maryke de la Rey was informed the case was nolle prosequi [would not be prosecuted].
The court was then adjourned.
The man was tracked down through a call made from his cellphone and was arrested on Wednesday, according to the Hawks.
Family members came out of the courtroom rejoicing at his release.
His lawyer, Harry Ramatshimbila, said there wasn’t enough evidence at this stage. He added that police would continue to investigate.
(with Sapa)
More on Sanral and e-tolls
What is really happening behind closed doors at Sanral?
Sanral: terrorist does not work for us
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