The Congress of South African Trade Unions is absolutely incensed by the statement on 18 August 2011, by Transport Minister, Sibusiso Ndebele, that "the new toll gate system on major Gauteng roads is a done deal and that it is just a matter of time before it is implemented."
This is the same S'bu Ndebele who as recently as May 2011 said that following the widespread public outcry, toll fees would not be implemented without further consultation. On 30 May the Transport Ministry promised that "there will be extensive consultation before any final decision is made about the possible implementation of new toll roads."
On 19 May 2011 the minister's spokesperson, Thami Ngidi, said that "it is of singular importance to us that this matter, which has attracted an outcry from a wide-ranging number of stakeholders, is dealt with thoroughly and in a manner that addresses the concerns raised during consultations. In reaching a final decision on this matter all the inputs should be considered."
Yet just three months later, on 18 August 2011, the Minister told an Infrastructure Development Cluster media briefing in Cape Town: "It's done. The tolls are there, the money has been spent and decisions have been taken."
The promised ‘consultations' never happened. COSATU, which by anyone's definition is a ‘stakeholder', has never been consulted, but simply informed that the tolling is going ahead. The deliberations which are to take place at Nedlac to discuss COSATU's notice under Section 77 of the Labour Relations Act on the issue have not even started, yet the minister is already prejudging their outcome.
COSATU is also appalled by the bizarre remark attributed to Energy Minister Dipuo Peters, that "those rejecting the tolls were the worst of people who spent their money on comforts and not on essential services such as electricity. People buy cellphones, they pay for airtime, but when it comes to water, electricity and transport, people complain about the user-pays principle, knowing quite well that we need resources to maintain and operate this infrastructure."
What an insult to the millions of workers who have no alternative to using their cars to get to work because of the lack of any public transport alternative, and who now face a huge additional cost! This is not a "comfort" but a necessity. And where is the evidence for the outrageous suggestion that opponents of the tolls "are not prepared to pay for service delivery"?
Opposition is not coming only from car drivers. The tolls will lead to big price increases in the shops to cover the increased cost of transporting goods; some companies may even be forced to close down and retrench workers because of their increased transport costs.
If there is no change in policy from government and the Nedlac negotiations deadlock, we shall be organising marches, demonstrations, pickets and stayaways, and taking strike action if the tolls are not scrapped. We are confident that thousands of other Gauteng residents will be joining us in these protests.
The federation will continue to demand as its alternative to tolled roads, an integrated, safe, reliable and affordable public transport system.
Statement issued by Patrick Craven, COSATU national spokesperson, August 19 2011
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