The Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance (OUTA) said on Wednesday it hoped the court will grant an interdict to stop Gauteng’s e-tolling by Thursday. 

The North Gauteng High Court on Wednesday ruled that the application the alliance had brought was urgent and must be dealt with before its imminent launch on Monday. 

The urgency ruling was seen as an important victory for the alliance.

The pressure was now on to finalise this case by the end of Thursday, as Friday is a public holiday.

“We cannot allow a situation to arise where judgment is not given before d-day,” one of the alliance’s lawyers, Owen Bloomberg, toldEyewitness News.

He said winning on urgency was crucial.

“This is significant because had we not won this, we would have had the difficulty in court three or four months from now to deal with this situation which is already a fait accompli.”

All three parties will try to get through their arguments as quickly as possible and a court could sit through the lunch break or after hours to reach a verdict.

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) said it was also considering submitting an application for a court interdict to stop e-tolling in Gauteng.

Provincial Chairperson Phutas Tseki said, “Cosatu is on the verge of submitting an application for a court interdict, as well.”

Meanwhile, government showed no signs of bowing to pressure to scrap the system.

In his budget vote to parliament, Transport Minister Sbu Ndebele reiterated government’s commitment to the e-toll system.

The minister said majority of people who use the Gauteng highways have already bought their e-tags.

He told parliament that 501,245 e-tags have so far been sold and distributed to regular users.

“This is a clear indication that people are cooperating with us.”

(Edited by Clare Matthes)

Chantall Presence 

South Africa’s credit rating may be adversely affected should the South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) fail to honour its debt, Transport Minister Sibusiso Ndebele warned on Wednesday.

He delivered his budget vote in Parliament, where he urged Gauteng road users to pay toll fees. 

Ndebele said the debt incurred by Sanral to conduct the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project could climb to R32 billion over the next few years.

The minister suggested if Sanral failed to service its debt, the country would suffer as its credit rating could be downgraded.

He said e-tolls would help Sanral pay its debt.

He pointed out that over 500,000 Gauteng freeway users have already bought their e-tags.

Meanwhile, the case against the introduction of e-tolling is currently underway at the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria.

The court is hearing arguments for and against the controversial tolls. 

Earlier, Judge Bill Prinsloo ruled in favour of the Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance (Outa) by granting an urgent interdict.

Outa took Sanral to court in a bid to stop Monday’s implementation of e-tolls.

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

(Edited by Lindiwe Mlandu)

Gia Nicolaides

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) said it was due to meet with the African National Congress (ANC) again on Thursday to discuss possible alternatives to paying off the debt incurred in building the e-tolling system. 

The trade federation announced plans to hold what it calls the “mother of all protests”. 

E-tolling is due to go live at the end of the month. 

Cosatu wants to find common ground on how to pay off the expensive infrastructure already in place for e-tolling. 

It is adamant that regular drivers and passengers should not be the ones to spend years paying back that debt. 

Cosatu said it will announce its final plans for protests soon and will keep a close eye on the legal challenge, which was launched to try and delay the launch. 

That case will be heard in court next week. 

South African National Roads Agency Limited meanwhile claims it is starting to see a pick up in the number of people buying e-tags. 

(Edited by Clare Matthes)

South African National Roads Limited (Sanral) insisted on Tuesday it was not bullying motorists into registering for e-tolling.

The roads agency also described a legal challenge against e-tolling as “unfortunate”, saying it should not deter motorists from buying e-tags. 

Sanral on Friday revealed penalties for drivers without e-tags will be up to three times higher than normal rates. 

On March, the Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance took Sanral and others to court, claiming consumer rights were being violated.  

But Sanral’s Nazeer Alli said the courts will rule on this.

“As far as the legal case is concerned, it is a bit unfortunate that people have taken that particular route so late in the day, when they have known about the improvements to the Gauteng Freeway Project.”

Meanwhile, National Consumer Commissioner Mamodupi Mohlala confirmed she will look into complaints about the latest punitive rates.

(Edited by Clare Matthes)