Very few people in the African National Congress support the tolling of Gauteng\u2019s highways, Cosatu in the province said on Thursday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis thing it has never been placed in any gathering of the ANC,\u201d provincial secretary Dumisani Dakile told reporters in Johannesburg.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll the provincial executive councils of the ANC that we have attended\u2026 they have unanimously agreed that this is not going to go [forward].\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the Congress of SA Trade Unions in Gauteng was not surprised when the ANC in the province announced at its conference that it was against e-tolls.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe think it is important\u2026 having the ANC in Gauteng coming out openly from the closet and taken a clear stand in relation to this matter.\u201d<\/p>\n
The trade union federation, along with the Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance and the National Taxi Alliance, would stage a protest on Saturday.<\/p>\n
The protest would start at Cosatu House in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, and make its way to the SA National Roads Agency Limited\u2019s (Sanral) offices in Pretoria. A protest would also start in Hatfield, Pretoria.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are going to hand over a memorandum to the Sanral offices\u2026 including burning of the e-tags and the bills which had been received by our people,\u201d Dakile said.<\/p>\n
He accused Sanral of abusing more than R20 billion on upgrading the province\u2019s highways without consulting citizens.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe call this action of Sanral as selling our public roads to the highest bidder and to monopoly capital without caring about our country and its people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dakile claimed the e-tolling system was already facing a crisis because many workers were being retrenched by the agencies and labour brokers used by Sanral.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe loss of revenue by Sanral is also another indication that the system is inefficient and ineffective and just creating a burden to our people and the poor in particular.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dakile dismissed claims by Sanral and the transport department that people would be prosecuted if they did not pay their e-toll bills.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are a number of other crimes that our police are supposed to be looking at. If you look at the recent statistics\u2026 they will tell you how violent crimes increased,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Prosecuting people who did not pay their e-tolls would be a waste of resources.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf they want to arrest people, I will be the first to volunteer. I think this is a fallacy\u2026 they can hardly arrest people who are not paying traffic fines.\u201d<\/p>\n
Outa spokesman John Clark said it was an empty threat.<\/p>\n
He said he had spoken to Transport Minister Dipuo Peters, who was a social worker just like him, and told her that as a social worker he believed it was irresponsible of her to \u201cuse such empty threats and allow yourself to be used\u201d.<\/p>\n
Asked whether he believed government would actually scrap e-tolls, Dakile said he was sure the people would be victorious.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s high time government accept that it has made a mistake and they must humbly apologise to the people.\u201d<\/p>\n
E-tolls not a national product: ANC<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n E-tolls not a decision for transport minister: Outa<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n E-tolls putting strain on other spheres of government<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n