Alex Eliseev

The South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) on Tuesday said the Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance (Outa) adopted a “wait-and-see approach” in their legal bid against the Gauteng e-tolling system.

The agency also accused the alliance of resorting to a court challenge at the eleventh hour.

On Tuesday, the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria heard an application for an interdict to stop the controversial project.

The e-tolling system is set to go live on Monday.

Sanral advocate David Unterhalter said it was unreasonable to sit back and watch the political process unfold, before attacking the project, shortly before the launch.

He said there was nothing obscure about the way e-tolling was introduced.

Unterhalter also referred to the public participation process.

Earlier, Outa suffered a setback when the court rejected its attempt to amend the entire application. 

Under the system, Gauteng motorists will pay around 30 cents per kilometre to use some of the province’s highways.  

(Edited by Zethu Zulu)