SANRAL needs some guidance

1 October 2015

Following on from the judgment handed down by the Western Cape High Court yesterday, 30 September 2015, SANRAL now has the opportunity to act in a responsible and transparent manner. This is a great opportunity not to be wasted.

As far as the City is concerned, SANRAL has one of three options:

-SANRAL can appeal against the judgment using taxpayers’ hard earned money

-SANRAL can decide to go ahead with their intentions to toll sections of the N1 and N2 freeways in Cape Town, but follow due process this time around as described by the SANRAL Act, the Constitution and the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act 3 of 2000 (PAJA)

-They can shelve this idea all together and use the money they receive from the National Government to maintain these freeways

Even though it is within the National Government’s mandate to determine how road infrastructure should be funded, the political decision-makers and public entities such as SANRAL are still obliged to follow due process and to act within the law. This, in a nutshell, is our interpretation of the judgment that was handed down yesterday.

We are looking forward to our next meeting in the Western Cape High Court when a decision will be made about how the City’s legal costs should be proportioned.

Statement issued by Brett Herron, Cape Town mayoral committee member for transport, 1 October 2015