GAUTENG PREMIER REVEALS MORE ROADS TO BE TOLLED

Gauteng Premier Nomvula Mokonyane revealed today in reply to my questions in the Gauteng Legislature that "about three roads" would be tolled in phase two of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project.

She said that phase two would be rolled out but that not all roads would be tolled. Mokonyane should tell us which are the extra roads that will be tolled and stop pretending that the provincial government was not previously consulted on the toll fees that would be charged.

There is a clear contradiction between what the CEO of the SA National Roads Agency Mr Nazir Alli says, and what the premier says about communication on toll fees with the provincial government. Mokonyane claims that the pricing model was never agreed on, whereas Alli says there was no adverse response from the Gauteng provincial government when the tariffs were announced in 2007.

According to Alli "a detailed presentation on the financial model" was presented to the provincial government on 22 August 2007. Who are we to believe?

There are further reports that toll revenues were seen as a cash cow for other transport projects. My view is that the provincial government failed to anticipate the outcry against the toll fees and then developed a "selective memory" about the decision-making process.

The fact is, they messed up and the hard-pressed motorist is going to pay more, with severe adverse effects on job creation in Gauteng.

Statement issued by Jack Bloom MPL, DA Caucus Leader, Gauteng Legislature, March 15 2011

Click here to sign up to receive our free daily headline email newsletter