Premier Makhura: Will you continue to remain silent on e-Tolls?

1 December 2016

Revelations by the South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL) that it is owed more than R11 billion in outstanding e-Toll fees is the strongest indication to date that motorists in Gauteng refuse to be taxed for making use of public roads.

Two years ago Gauteng Premier, David Makhura, established a review panel to look at the socio-economic impact e-Tolls would have on residents of the province. A welcome move, the report findings raised numerous issues including the lack of alternative affordable public transport in the province, as well as the slow progress made to redress Apartheid-spatial planning.

However, after pressure from the ANC's national structures, Premier Makhura's hand was forced to ensure the Provincial Government backed the project with minor adjustments to the fee structure.

Two years down the line, Gauteng’s motorists remain resolute in their stance against e-Tolls.

Earlier in the year, the ANC in Gauteng were punished at the polls in the Local Government Elections, and as the Secretary General of the party, Gwede Mantashe, claimed – e-Tolls were one of the major contributing factors to the downfall of the party in the province.

Premier Makhura must now make the hard choice, either he is with the people of Gauteng– as the active and responsive Premier he claims to be, or he can remain silent and continue to prove that ultimately he takes his orders from Luthuli House with little regard for the plight of the provinces residents.

The DA will continue to fight against this unjust taxation of our roads, and will continue to support organisations like OUTA who have pledged to defend citizens against SANRAL’s bullying tactics.

Issued by John Moodey, DA Gauteng Provincial Leader, 1 December 2016