The Democratic Alliance believes that Gauteng citizens “are quite simply gatvol” of the e-toll saga and says it will table a private members bill against urban tolling.<\/p>\n
“The DA will not give in to an inept system,” said DA shadow minister for transport, Manny de Freitas.<\/p>\n
The DA said that most of the residents in Gauteng were expecting e-tolls to simply be scrapped, when Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa recenttly announced a new dispensation for the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP), more commonly known as e-tolls.<\/p>\n
However, what the public got was ‘smoke and mirrors’ for the benefit of the ANC after the ruling party lost a record 11% support in Gauteng, to\u00a053.59%, in the 2014 General Election.<\/p>\n
“The message from Gautengers is simple; we saw the gantries being built on our existing freeways. We weren\u2019t consulted. We didn\u2019t ask for them. Now were are expected to pay. We will not,” de Freitas said.<\/p>\n
“Ramaphosa and the rest of the government genuinely believed that they had come up with the perfect e-toll \u201cdeal\u201d. They just don\u2019t get it. It\u2019s no longer about the best ‘deal’.”<\/p>\n
“It\u2019s about the ANC government, its abuse of power and continued upward trend at corruption and raping of resources at every sphere of government. The citizens are quite simply gatvol,” he said.<\/p>\n
“Their attitude is simple: government expects us to pay for e-tolls which money will benefit a European state. Yet Zuma and his cronies continue to ride the crest of the corruption wave benefiting from South Africans hard earned earnings yet treating the population like simpletons even to an extent that the President last week joked and laughed in Parliament about the public\u2019s response to Nkandla.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Vehicle license discs<\/h3>\n
The DA noted that linking e-toll bills to the payment of motor vehicle license discs, as stated under the new dispensation, “would be an illegal practice”, as legislative amendments would be required to affect this change.<\/p>\n
“It will take time for these changes to become a reality \u2013 probably around 18 months. This fact in itself leads me to believe that the e-toll announcement was premature,” de Freitas said.<\/p>\n
He said that motorists will simply rather pay a R250 fine for driving with an outdated license disc.<\/p>\n
Another question of concern is if withholding the issue of licence discs would pass constitutional muster?<\/p>\n
According to the DA, not displaying an up-to-date licence disc is, under the AARTO Act, a minor infringement which results in a R250 fine, discounted by 50% if paid within 32 days.<\/p>\n
The consequence of not paying such a fine could, after the prescribed period and processes have ensued, lead to an enforcement order being issued, thereby blocking licensing transactions on the eNaTIS system against the person.<\/p>\n
“In other words, the motorist would not only have unpaid e-tolls and no current licence disc, but would also have one or more unpaid traffic fines which can currently proceed no further than an enforcement order and would therefore constitute no real inconvenience to the person,” de Freitas said.<\/p>\n
So if this new provision is passed and people continue their resistance campaign, the Gauteng Provincial Government and all licensing authorities in Gauteng will suffer negatively as their licensing income revenues drop dramatically.<\/p>\n
Considering that Gauteng has the largest vehicle population in the country, currently at 38.87% which equates to 11,493,608 vehicles as at 31 March 2015, this is not small change for the Gauteng government.<\/p>\n
Fuel levy<\/h3>\n
The DA noted that the financial alternatives are as clear as day and funding the GFIP through the fuel levy is the most obvious solution. Government would enjoy 100% compliance from motorists and administrative costs are minimal.<\/p>\n
This year the fuel levy generated R55 billion, up from R24.8 billion in 2008 when this projected was initiated.<\/p>\n
The GFIP bonds require approximately R1.9 billion annually to finance over their required 24 year lifespan. This only equates to about a 10 cents per litre rise in the fuel price.<\/p>\n
Simple economics would suggest a 10 cent increase in the fuel levy would be the optimal solution, the DA said.<\/p>\n
“It\u2019s a no brainer, yet our cloak and dagger government will ignore the fuel levy route instead insisting on e-tolls to hide their inefficiencies and corruption and expecting Gautengers to cough up more of their lifeblood,” de Freitas said.<\/p>\n
\u00a0More on e-tolls<\/h3>\n
We\u2019ve got you covered on e-tolls: insurance companies<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n