Sanral and Outa urged to finalise issue of e-tolls
In a press release the Automobile Association of South Africa (AA) says that the issues relating to e-tolling need to be finalised urgently for the benefit of all Gauteng road users.
It noted with concern the latest public exchanges between South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral), and the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa), on issues relating to e-tolls in Gauteng.
The dispute raised in the public domain over the past week by the two organisations relates to legal discussions between them on the summonses issued to e-toll defaulters. According to Outa an agreement was reached that current, and future, Outa members – who have outstanding e-toll accounts – will not be pursued until a test case to determine the legality of e-tolls on the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP) is concluded.
Sanral, in turn, denied that an agreement has been reached, claiming that Outa is using this as a means of attracting (paid for) membership.
Neither Outa nor Sanral have mentioned the position of non-Outa members, especially those who are not paying their e-tolls accounts, and how they should proceed if they are summonsed by the roads agency.
“Whatever the situation may be, this current round of debate in the media between the two parties is not bringing any clarity to Gauteng road users on how they must proceed in relation to e-tolls. Many road users still do not pay for e-tolls, and are anxious for a final legal ruling. In light of this, we urge both Sanral and Outa to consider that this is not benefitting anyone,” the AA said.
In addition, the AA noted it is of particular concern that Outa claims that an agreement has been reached in relation to its current and future members.
“We understand that many motorists have joined Outa to protect themselves legally in the event they are summonsed to appear in court. We believe there are many motorists who are not, or do not intend to be, members of Outa, or who are members of other organisations. Their rights should similarly be protected one way or another. If it is true that an arrangement has been made (only for current and future Outa members), this amounts to protection for a specific group of individuals, which is wholly unfair and, we would argue, may be unconstitutional,” the AA said.
It further noted that if Sanral has an agreement with Outa, or any other civic organisations, then it does not seem unreasonable to expect a joint statement from all involved parties to this effect.
The Association said it is also concerned that the issue of the e-tolls saga was not being resolved quicker.
“As far back as April we noted that the issue of the validity of the debts would end in court, and urged all concerned to resolve this issue as priority, for the sake of all motorists in Gauteng. We are dismayed that at what seems to be endless delays in bring this matter to finality, a situation that is not benefiting the most important players in all of this: Gauteng motorists,” the AA concluded.
Source: AA