CABINET has stuck to its guns on the controversial Gauteng freeways tolls, saying the implementation date of April 1 will not change.
Minister in the Presidency Collins Chabane said while they noted massive support for labour federation Cosatu's protest action against e-tolling on Wednesday, this had not changed their position on making motorists pay for using improved Gauteng freeways.
"You would not have expected cabinet to make a decision on the basis of a march which has taken place ... government has made a decision and government is going to proceed and implement that decision," he said.
Chabane was addressing journalists at a post-cabinet media briefing in Cape Town yesterday.
Government has made available almost R6-billion to support the project and minimise the impact on consumers.
It said this had resulted in "significantly reduced" toll fees. The poor had also been exempted from paying toll fees when using Gauteng freeways.
The planned tolling of Gauteng freeways was introduced to help roads agency Sanral pay back more than R59-billion that the agency has borrowed to upgrade roads nationally. Gauteng freeways alone have cost Sanral R20-billion to upgrade.
In terms of the new price regime for e-tolls, the per-kilometre fee for private motorists has gone down from 66c to 30c for those that purchase e-tags.
Light vehicles and motorbikes that travel on the highway frequently will pay a capped fee of R550 per month if they have e-tags. Smaller trucks have to fork out 75c while big trucks will pay a whopping R1.51c per kilometre.
But heavy-duty vehicles will benefit from a 20% discount for using the freeways outside of peak hours.
More than 150,000 people took to the streets of Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban in support of Cosatu's protest action against e-tolling and labour brokers.
Cosatu has argued that exempting commuter taxis and buses would not ease the burden on workers because a large number of them are forced to use their own vehicles due to the poor state of the country's public transport system.
The SACP weighed in on the debate yesterday, saying government had prioritised wrongly when it spent R20-billion on widening 185 kilometres of freeways in Gauteng.
"The public transport that workers depend upon - minibuses, buses and Metrorail - is often inaccessible, unsafe, overcrowded and expensive. Our township roads are often pot-holed. Our rural roads and bridges become dangerous when it rains," the SACP said in a statement.
In Gauteng, Metro police have vowed to arrest anyone blockading the freeways where the e-tolls have been installed - as Cosatu has threatened.
"The law says no pedestrians are allowed on freeways. Blocking the freeway will be an unlawful act and they will be arrested because they will be breaking the law."
- Additional reporting by Sowetan Reporters.
State won't budge on tolls
CABINET has stuck to its guns on the controversial Gauteng freeways tolls, saying the implementation date of April 1 will not change.
Minister in the Presidency Collins Chabane said while they noted massive support for labour federation Cosatu's protest action against e-tolling on Wednesday, this had not changed their position on making motorists pay for using improved Gauteng freeways.
"You would not have expected cabinet to make a decision on the basis of a march which has taken place ... government has made a decision and government is going to proceed and implement that decision," he said.
Chabane was addressing journalists at a post-cabinet media briefing in Cape Town yesterday.
Government has made available almost R6-billion to support the project and minimise the impact on consumers.
It said this had resulted in "significantly reduced" toll fees. The poor had also been exempted from paying toll fees when using Gauteng freeways.
The planned tolling of Gauteng freeways was introduced to help roads agency Sanral pay back more than R59-billion that the agency has borrowed to upgrade roads nationally. Gauteng freeways alone have cost Sanral R20-billion to upgrade.
In terms of the new price regime for e-tolls, the per-kilometre fee for private motorists has gone down from 66c to 30c for those that purchase e-tags.
Light vehicles and motorbikes that travel on the highway frequently will pay a capped fee of R550 per month if they have e-tags. Smaller trucks have to fork out 75c while big trucks will pay a whopping R1.51c per kilometre.
But heavy-duty vehicles will benefit from a 20% discount for using the freeways outside of peak hours.
More than 150,000 people took to the streets of Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban in support of Cosatu's protest action against e-tolling and labour brokers.
Cosatu has argued that exempting commuter taxis and buses would not ease the burden on workers because a large number of them are forced to use their own vehicles due to the poor state of the country's public transport system.
The SACP weighed in on the debate yesterday, saying government had prioritised wrongly when it spent R20-billion on widening 185 kilometres of freeways in Gauteng.
"The public transport that workers depend upon - minibuses, buses and Metrorail - is often inaccessible, unsafe, overcrowded and expensive. Our township roads are often pot-holed. Our rural roads and bridges become dangerous when it rains," the SACP said in a statement.
In Gauteng, Metro police have vowed to arrest anyone blockading the freeways where the e-tolls have been installed - as Cosatu has threatened.
"The law says no pedestrians are allowed on freeways. Blocking the freeway will be an unlawful act and they will be arrested because they will be breaking the law."
- Additional reporting by Sowetan Reporters.
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