Talks on the Gauteng freeway project between government and concerned parties would continue next week, the office of the deputy president said on Friday (28 September 2012).<\/p>\n
Spokesman Thabo Masebe said government had met the Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance (Outa<\/a>), the Federation of Unions of SA (Fedusa<\/a>), Business Unity SA and the Road Freight Agency during the week.<\/p>\n “What we’ve found is that government and the various organisations have become much closer… a lot of progress has been made and they’re agreeing on most things,” said Masebe.<\/p>\n Motlanthe heads the inter-ministerial committee on the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project.<\/p>\n On Friday, the SABC<\/a> reported that Motlanthe had given an indication that the tolls would go ahead during an interview with the broadcaster.<\/p>\n He was quoted as saying: “Almost all of them accepted the principle of user-paying. We hope to complete consultations by mid-week. We’ve already made progress with Cosatu and we all agreed that there is a debt that needs to be serviced and settled.”<\/p>\n On Tuesday, it was reported that Outa representatives found its meeting with the deputy president “uneventful”.<\/p>\n They reportedly said a “win-win solution” had yet to be reached.<\/p>\n Related article<\/strong><\/p>\n E-tolls: final talks begin<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Govt happy with e-toll ruling<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Cosatu threatens “mass action” against e-tolls<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Court rules on e-tolling<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n E-tolls will become \u201ckey factors\u201d in property decisions<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n