Legal action against tolls gets under way

The legal action by the Road Freight Association (RFA), seeking to put a stop to the Gauteng toll roads scheme, got under way this week. The papers were due to be served, according to Gavin Kelly, RFA’s technical and operations manager, and the legal team to approach the High Court for an interdict to stop the tolling operation dead in its tracks because of a lack of in-depth consultation on the matter. The RFA maintains that the best method to recover costs of development and maintenance for the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP) remains a fuel levy of around 35 cents per litre (countrywide). The costs to administer and implement the collection of tolls through the gantry system remain an exorbitant and fruitless expenditure that the country should reject outright, the association added. The GFIP operational running costs alone, for example, are estimated to amount to R1 billion per year – almost R3m per calendar day – just to collect toll money. Spending between R6bn and R14bn (the latest figures quoted by the DA recently) to collect R21bn just does not make financial sense, Kelly added.