The reported plan to establish e-toll courts is alarming, the Democratic Alliance’s Gauteng premier candidate Mmusi Maimane said on Monday.<\/p>\n
“Government’s plan to create courts to prosecute people who do not pay e-tolls must sound the alarm bells for all Gauteng residents,” Maimane said in reaction to the news.<\/p>\n
Earlier in the day, Beeld reported that the SA Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) and the justice department were discussing the possibility of establishing special courts where e-toll non-payers could be prosecuted.<\/p>\n
“If these plans go ahead, a road user who fails to pay the astronomical cost of R400 a month for regular trips between Soweto and Midrand will be hauled before a special court and prosecuted,” Maimane said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Justice department spokesman Mthunzi Mhaga reportedly said Sanral had asked for such a court.<\/p>\n
“We are still talking about what would be the best method,” Mhaga was quoted as saying.<\/p>\n
Maimane said talk of the courts was a sign the state was “serious about emptying the pockets of South Africans” and he urged residents of Gauteng to take action.<\/p>\n
National Prosecuting Authority communications head Bulewa Makeke said it was the NPA’s responsibility to allow courts to apply laws that had been accepted.<\/p>\n
Both the justice department and the NPA “could not speculate” on whether the country’s legal system would be able to cope.<\/p>\n
“We cannot afford a situation where honest road users are convicted in their thousands, while the real criminals who rape and steal continue to escape the criminal justice system,” Maimane said.<\/p>\n
Motorists would receive fines by registered mail that could lead to a court summons.<\/p>\n
According to the Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance’s court documents, this could be about 2.1 million summonses.<\/p>\n
Sanral spokesman Vusi Mona said motorists who did not pay their toll fees would be charged under the Sanral Act.<\/p>\n
If the first debt collection process failed, a final notice would be sent and the matter would be handed over to the prosecuting authority.<\/p>\n
It would be done electronically, he said.<\/p>\n
\u00a0E-toll: the hidden costs<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Fight against e-tolls now up to people of Gauteng: DA<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Outa\u2019s e-toll case dismissed<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n