Ndebele meets Sanral over e-tolls

TRANSPORT Minister Sbu Ndebele yesterday met with the SA National Roads Agency Limited board to discuss Gauteng's controversial electronic tolls, which are expected to go live next month.

This comes at a time when opposition parties, business formations, logistics companies, labour unions and civil society are planning to stage a civil disobedience campaign by urging motorists to boycott the tolls.

The tolls are expected to place a huge financial burden on motorists, which will see regular road users pay up to R2000 a month in toll fees.

Department of Transport spokesman Logan Maistry said "the minister met with the new Sanral board today over the tolls and other issues".

"The board is currently looking at the e-tolls, petitions made by those concerned and other submissions. They will then make recommendations to the minister."

Sanral bosses this week said about 231000 motorists have already opened their e-toll accounts, three months after the official opening of the registration.

The agency urged more motorists to open up their e-accounts, which cost a once-off R50.

Cosatu, which initiated the campaign to boycott the tolls, said its stance on the matter has not changed.

On the number of people that have already registered their e-toll accounts, Cosatu spokesman Patrick Craven said "the figure is very low in comparison to the number of motorists in Gauteng, which means a lot of people have not registered. We are still hoping that the government will change its mind."

Craven said the labour federation wants the tolls scrapped.

"We are prepared to discuss other alternatives ... We will be taking to the streets if the tolls go ahead."

The DA's transport spokesman in the Gauteng legislature Neil Campbell said: "If we all stand together resolutely refusing to be part of this unjust toll system, it will fail because Sanral, the toll collection company and the justice system cannot cope with a boycott by 95% of highway users."

Most of the cars that had already registered their accounts were probably government fleet, he said.

The toll tariffs are 40c per km for light motor vehicles, R1 per km for medium vehicles, R2 per km for heavy trucks and 24c per km for bikers.