[May 2013..Dec 2013] The Gauteng E-tolling Thread

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Outa, Sanral face-off in e-toll debate

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Outa-Sanral-face-off-in-e-toll-debate-20131011

Johannesburg - Outa and Sanral exchanged insults on Friday, sparked by a comment that Gauteng e-tolling would turn roads into death traps.

SA National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) spokesperson Vusi Mona called Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance (Outa) chairperson Wayne Duvenage a liar, but the latter hit back, instructing Mona to "mind his own business".

The spat started with a statement from Sanral, saying: "On Thursday Outa made the outrageous claim that roads in Johannesburg would become death traps as trucking companies choose to avoid the Gauteng highway network and toll gantries.

"However, the Road Freight Association [RFA] has already refuted this claim and did so again this week."

Mona said: "It is one thing to fight a legal battle which you believe in but it is another all together to spread lies and incorrect information. Some of it borders on incitement and some of it amounts to shouting 'fire' in a packed cinema hall."

According to reports on Friday, Duvenage said there was no doubt trucking companies would order their drivers to avoid some of the 42 gantries to avoid paying e-toll fees.

Duvenage told Sapa he stood by his comments.

"You don't have to be a rocket scientist or road engineer to know that tolling does lead to cars and trucks taking routes that are not tolled."

Challenge dismissed

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in Bloemfontein dismissed the latest challenge by Outa to the e-tolling of Gauteng's freeways.

Duvenage said Mona had no right to tell Outa how it should manage its legal challenge.

"He speaks as if the SCA is the final hurdle, [that] we must now accept the judgment, when in fact there is another step we can take to the Constitutional Court."

Duvenage said Mona erroneously mentioned in the past that the Constitutional Court had already ruled on the case. However, that case only related to a temporary interdict on e-tolling pending a review.

"Outa believes it still has a strong case in regard to the constitutionality of the unlawfulness of Sanral's behaviour relating to e-tolling. Mr Mona should mind his own business and leave us to ours."

Consultation

Mona said Sanral had consulted various experts in the planning and construction of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project.

"Mr Duvenage is neither an engineer nor a lawyer and we would implore him to stop commenting on issues which fall outside his expertise.

"We would also ask him to refrain from making statements on behalf of various stakeholders without their knowledge or buy-in."

Duvenage said he never claimed to have specialist expertise.

"I have never claimed to be an engineer or a lawyer, or a hustler, an aspirant road builder or a populist as Mr Mona has called me in the past," he said

"I also don't need to be any of these, other than a concerned citizen with some foresight to contemplate the unintended consequences in the event that e-tolling is forced onto the public."

- SAPA
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OUTA wants action on Tolls

The Gauteng e-tolling controversy offers President Jacob Zuma the opportunity to show government officials what he means by consultation, the Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance (Outa) said on Tuesday.

Zuma told residents of Soshanguve during a sitting of the National Council of Provinces on Friday that South Africans wanted to be engaged continuously and had strong views about how they wanted to be governed.

"South Africans, especially those who fought hard to be free, want to be engaged continuously and have strong views about how they should be governed... If done correctly and continuously, engagement at all levels would eliminate the reasons for protests as people would have more avenues to speak to government directly," Zuma said.

"[While] we agree whole heartedly with these statements, we are left deflated when it comes to action displayed by the authorities in this regard," Outa chairman Wayne Duvenage said.

"This is clearly the situation with regard to the e-tolling debacle, where the public engagement process was extremely dismal and even at this late stage, when it is not too late to halt this highly rejected and ill-conceived plan, the authorities continue to ignore the views of the people on this matter."

Duvenage said the Gauteng e-tolling issue offered Zuma the opportunity to show government officials what he meant in practice.

"Had meaningful public participation on e-tolling been undertaken in 2007, the authorities would have learned then of the difficulties they now face, all of which has given rise to the rejection of the e-toll scheme," said Duvenage.

"This would not have meant a cancellation of the freeway upgrade, but instead, a meaningful engagement process by Sanral (SA National Roads Agency Ltd) at the time could very well have provided an acceptable, more efficient and most amenable solution for society to pay for the infrastructural requirements."

He said it would have enabled society to understand and accept the work to be done, explore alternatives, scrutinise the contracts to be issued and to hold the state accountable for the estimates and quoted costs incurred.


Source : Sapa /mm/tk/jje/jk
Date : 05 Nov 2013 11:10
 
Wayne Duvenhage is taking a very pragmatic approach and keeping his temper in check which i commend him for. But for the ANC this was never about find the right solution to road infrastructure
 
Garyvdh said:
"South Africans, especially those who fought hard to be free, want to be engaged continuously and have strong views about how they should be governed... If done correctly and continuously, engagement at all levels would eliminate the reasons for protests as people would have more avenues to speak to government directly," Zuma said
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So Zuma admits that all of the protests happening in the country every day are indicative that the state has failed to correctly and continuously engage with the community.
 
Jamie Surkont - head of ETC, also part of TxPoint, selling fleet management services for etolls. Conflict of interest much? (Shaun on Twitter)
 
Zuma told residents of Soshanguve during a sitting of the National Council of Provinces on Friday that South Africans wanted to be engaged continuously and had strong views about how they wanted to be governed.
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Yet.. when people in Gauteng marching/toy-toying in the streets against e-tolls doesn't say to him we are unhappy? O wait.. government is making millions out of this and not let us forget about the palm greasing in the back...

Zuma give's a rats ass about the people..
 
TelkomUseless said:
Yet.. when people in Gauteng marching/toy-toying in the streets against e-tolls doesn't say to him we are unhappy? O wait.. government is making millions out of this and not let us forget about the palm greasing in the back...

Zuma give's a rats ass about the people..
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How can you expect someone who allegedly didn't know anything about the cost of his private compound or about his corrupt financial adviser / funds manager, to be aware of anything happening on the streets?
 
Gauteng e-toll operations up for grabs in 2018?

http://www.moneyweb.co.za/moneyweb-south-africa/gauteng-etoll-operations-up-for-grabs-in-2018

E-toll costs already costing Sanral R25m per month.

Sanral is currently paying an average of R25 million per month to toll operator ETC, for costs incurred to be ready for the start of Gauteng’s e-toll system.

The contract with ETC stretches over five years from the start of e-tolls, after which it will be put on open tender again. With e-tolls set to start before the end of the year, that means the contract may be up for grabs by 2018.

Many South African operators have the capacity to take over this function, says Alex van Niekerk, head of Toll and Traffic at Sanral.

The current payments relate to, among other things, e-toll outlets in major shopping centres that have seen few customers while the implementation has been delayed.

Van Niekerk told Moneyweb that ETC has been submitting monthly invoices for direct costs like rent, rates and taxes. Other services were paid for at a tariff agreed upon in the contract with the service provider. ETC submits a certificate for work done. Once it is verified that the work has indeed been done, payment is made at the agreed upon tariff.

Van Niekerk stresses that the contract with ETC is not a concession. They are service providers. “It is like somebody who provides garden services and you pay for those services.” The contract does not provide for claims by ETC against Sanral due to the delay in implementing e-tolls.

He says the contract included the design, build, maintenance and operation of the e-toll system. “That is the best contract format for systems. If you use one contractor to build it and another to operate it, problems during operations can easily be blamed on the party who built it.” A contractor, who builds and operates it, has to ensure that the system works.

He says the contract for the system itself, which includes the management of the toll gantries and collection of billing information is more technical and stretches over eight years.

The operation of the system, which includes transaction clearing and violation centre, is only for five years. “We believe after five years the system would have proved itself.” ETC will still be obligated to maintain the system, but the operations will go out on tender again.

“It consists of a financial component (transaction clearing) and the violation process.” The management of the toll system itself is specialised with less than ten companies worldwide capable of doing the job, he believes many companies, including local ones, have the capacity to take over the operations.

Van Niekerk did not name possible contenders; but obvious possibilities include Bakwena, that manages the N4 toll concession and has local and international investors, Trans African Concessions (TRAC) in which Basil Read and Stefanutti Stocks have stakes, Murray & Roberts subsidiary Tolcon that is operating the N3 toll concession among others and Group Five’s Intertoll, that is operating toll roads in Eastern Europe and Zimbabwe.

Van Niekerk stressed that ETC is also a South African company, although the Austrian company Kapsch has an effective stake of 85% in it. “They pay tax in South Africa and 99% of their staff are South Africans.” He said the criticism that huge amounts of toll revenue will leave South Africa through Kapsch is unfounded. “Kapsch will only get dividends if ETC makes a profit.”

Van Niekerk said Sanral has reached an agreement with the Gauteng Department of Community Safety that the enforcement of e-tolls will be done by their officials and not the Tshwane and Johannesburg Metro Police or the Road Traffic Management Corporation”s National Intervention Unit.
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Many South African operators have the capacity to take over this function, says Alex van Niekerk, head of Toll and Traffic at Sanral.
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Then why on earth did you choose to send half a billion rand per annum overseas? Oh yeah, the right hands were greased.

Van Niekerk stressed that ETC is also a South African company, although the Austrian company Kapsch has an effective stake of 85% in it. “They pay tax in South Africa and 99% of their staff are South Africans.” He said the criticism that huge amounts of toll revenue will leave South Africa through Kapsch is unfounded. “Kapsch will only get dividends if ETC makes a profit.”
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Shaiks, Zumas or Guptas? Which one of them own the remaining 15%?
 
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All the big comanies make mony from this, no surpise! This country is run by big companies, not the peepul.
 
DA to take legal action against e-tolls

The constitutionality of the legislation introducing e-tolling to Gauteng will be challenged by the DA, the party said on Wednesday.

"This could have far-reaching consequences for its roll-out in the province," the Democratic Alliance said in a statement.

Details of the legal action would be announced by the party's national spokesman Mmusi Maimane on Thursday.

In October, the Supreme Court of Appeal dismissed an Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance appeal against the implementation of e-tolls by the SA National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral).


Source : Sapa /mr/hdw/ks/th
Date : 06 Nov 2013 16:18
 
Garyvdh said:
The constitutionality of the legislation introducing e-tolling to Gauteng will be challenged by the DA, the party said on Wednesday.

"This could have far-reaching consequences for its roll-out in the province," the Democratic Alliance said in a statement.
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And this is where the wheels of the e-toll gravy train is going to come off. I cannot see e-toll's passing this hurdle. Holding all thumbs, if this fails we will definitely be next in line down here [Western Cape] in regards to tolling.
 
MKFrost said:
And this is where the wheels of the e-toll gravy train is going to come off. I cannot see e-toll's passing this hurdle.
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Regardless of whether the DA win their challenge in court or not, I hope the e-tolling goes live before the end of the year.
Once people start getting billed, threatened, etc. they will catch a wake up regarding the ANC.
I am sure it will fail due to mass non-compliance in any case.
 
The ANC appoints the con-court judges, so don't hold your breath.
 
Wyzak said:
The ANC appoints the con-court judges, so don't hold your breath.
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I'm not holding my breath.
But to me every delay helps.
The fact of the matter is that the problems with the Transport Bill were pointed out well in advance by numerous parties.
Jacob Zuma even went on record as saying that he was not happy with the bill and would not sign it.
That was posted earlier in this thread.
Then on the last day of OUTA's last legal challenge, he changes his mind and goes ahead and signs it.
Even a bought ConCourt judge would be hard pressed to not see that.
And remember the judges themselves are reviewed by their peers, if they have a finding which goes against common legal opinion they can be censured and even removed.

But yes, at the end of the day... this battle will still come down to the citizens alone.
We all know that by now.
 
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