Battle royal brewing over impending tolls

There is a fight brewing in Gauteng. And a big one at that. It’s been on the cards for years but no-one really predicted the outcry and outrage over the tolling of the Gauteng freeways. So much so in fact that government stepped in and reduced the initial fees significantly in the hope of placating the opposition – and even going as far as exempting buses and taxis. And while some – including the South African National Roads Agency Ltd’s CEO Nazir Alli – remain perplexed at all the fuss over the proposed highway tolls, the experts agree the heated discussions to date are just the warm-up rounds. There is trouble ahead. “Gauteng tolls are an unaffordable expense that will affect everyone. Jobs will be lost. It is one tax too many, on top of the costs of electricity, water, refuse removal and rates,” says the Democractic Alliance’s Jack Bloom. Having just launched the “Toll-free GP” campaign, calling for public mobilisation through its interactive website, Facebook and Twitter account, the party says more than 11 000 people have already taken a stand. The decision to toll Gauteng’s highways has no doubt opened up a political hornet’s nest, with combatants from every sector taking a stance. In the Gauteng provincial legislature a debate on the highly contentious issue was cancelled last minute on October 11 by the caucus’s Gugu Ndima. This, she said, was to give the public a chance to comment on the tolling of the highways. “It is highly unusual for a sitting to be cancelled in this way,” said Bloom, who claims the cancellation is really because the ANC themselves are divided about the issue. Sanral on the other hand has remained adamant that tolling is the best way forward for South Africa. “Tolls enable Sanral to provide roads sooner than the traditional tax-based revenues that would traditionally fund these roads,” reads a statement released on tolling. “Toll roads ensure a high quality road network. In addition to contributing to improved road safety, toll roads generally reduce travelling distances and result in substantial savings on the running costs of vehicles and much-valued travel time. Tolls also ensure dedicated funding for maintenance of the roads.” The much-contended “userpay” system, according to Sanral, represents a fair and precise way of paying for transportation facilities. The Congress of South African Trade Unions has remained adamant it will not accept the tolling, which is expected to be implemented in February next year. “The costs of the open road tolling system for Gauteng’s highways keep escalating at an unsustainable rate,” says the organisation’s Phindile Kunene. “The escalating implementation costs of the tolling system are a vindication of our view that the tolls are a modern form of the privatisation of public roads. These tolls will impose a huge additional burden on road users, while generating huge profits for those who have installed them.” Most are in agreement that the tolls will have a particularly devastating cost impact. “They will lead to big price increases in the shops to cover the increased cost of transporting goods, and some companies may even be forced out of business and have to retrench workers because of their increased transport costs,” said Kunene.