Statement by Zwelinzima Vavi, 20 May 2015

The government’s announcement that it is cutting the maximum amount drivers will be asked to pay for toll fees on highways in Gauteng from R450 to R225 is an admission that the mass campaign against e-tolls is winning and the system is collapsing, as thousands of motorists continue to refuse to pay.

It will not however lead to any increase in payment. On the contrary drivers will smell victory for their campaign of resistance and will be more determined than ever to resist until this hated tax is withdrawn completely.

The government overlooks the fact that the campaign against e-tolls was never just in opposition to the amount being tolled but to the principle of turning a basic public service into a commodity. It extends the scandalous two-tier model of service delivery, which is already undermining education and healthcare, into transport. If you have money you pay for a first-class service. If you are poor you have to suffer fourth-rate service, in this case struggling to use crowded, pot-holed side roads.

The government also keeps ignoring the fact that because of the slow roll-out of reliable, safe and affordable public transport alternatives, thousands of workers have no alternative means of getting to and from their workplaces. These are not wealthy middle class commuters. The government is committed in principle to improving public transport, but it is still a long way from complete.

The e-toll system is clearly collapsing. Sanral is facing a revenue shortfall of about R390-million because of drivers’ failure or refusal to pay the tolls. Electronic Toll Collection, which operates the tolls and is controlled by Kapsch TrafficCom, an Austrian maker of toll road systems, said in February last year that it had taken a R112-million write down on part of compensation it was due to receive from Sanral to maintain and run the system.

Deputy President Ramaphosa says that the government will make up this amount by offering car owners a 60% discount to settle their bills, but that if they do not pay he is hinting (threatening?) that non-payers will not be issued with vehicle licence discs and would therefore be driving unlawfully. If this is true such blackmail will only make motorists even angrier and more determined not to pay.

I agree with former Outa chairperson Wayne Duvenage‚ who tweeted after the announcement that the new e-toll fee structure was “tantamount to putting lipstick on a pig. People will not be seduced or coerced. Scheme still grossly irrational.”

Statement issued by Zwelinzima Vavi, May 20 2015