COSATU response to ConCourt e-tolling ruling
The Congress of South African Trade Unions regrets the decision of the Constitutional Court to lift the suspension of the implementation of e-tolling on Gauteng highways.
For COSATU however, the legal arguments have never been the issue. We oppose e-tolling in principle, as an attempt to privatise a public asset and forced motorists, including thousands of workers, to pay double to get to and from work, attend family events, or to be forced to use slow, pot-holed alternative routes.
We reject the argument for ‘user-pays' for basic public services like our roads. This is not just a Gauteng issue. If e-tolling is accepted in one province it will open the door to more e-tolls in other provinces and we will oppose them anywhere.
COSATU is currently engaging with both government, in the person of Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe, and the ANC, in a joint task team to investigate alternative and better ways to fund road construction and improvements.
We warn the government not to even think about implementing e-tolls until these consultations have been completed. Should they do so COSATU will oppose them with every power we have and this will form part of the Programme of Action which is to be adopted at the conclusion of the COSATU 11th National Congress later today.
Statement issued by Patrick Craven, COSATU national spokesperson, September 20 2012
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