E-tolling is harming the poor and working class, who are already struggling with the high cost of living, the SA Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) said on Thursday.<\/p>\n
“It has proved to be anti-working class because the implications thereof have been detrimental to the proletariat,” Gauteng provincial secretary Chris Nkosi told the advisory panel on e-tolling and its socio-economic impact in Midrand.<\/p>\n
The union believed Austrian company Kapsch being awarded the tender worth billions of rands to operate and administer the e-toll system, and having a majority stake in the project, was indicative of privatisation.
\n“Sanral indicated that the [Gauteng] premier’s review panel would create uncertainty,” Nkosi said.<\/p>\n
This showed the SA National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) prioritised foreign investors over the working class.<\/p>\n
Nkosi said while it had been said that public transport, such as buses and taxis, would be excluded from the system, taxis were privately-owned and did not qualify as public transport.<\/p>\n
“Maybe there is a need for us to understand public transport,” Nkosi said.<\/p>\n
The working class continued to be excluded from the benefits of South Africa’s infrastructure.<\/p>\n
“Workers are forced to pay a colossal amount of money to travel on South Africa’s roads.”<\/p>\n
This was in the face of an unemployment rate of at least 25 percent and the poor and working class being affected by higher-than-average inflation.<\/p>\n
“In fact we are living from hand to mouth,” Nkosi said.<\/p>\n
Satawu lamented the lack of a safe, reliable transport system, making owning a car not a need but a requirement.<\/p>\n
“You see e-tolls in developed countries, there is no problem,” Nkosi said.<\/p>\n
“In South Africa you have to travel to work, and the more you travel to work, the more you travel under gantries, the more you have to pay.”<\/p>\n
The union could see the “drastic improvement” that had taken place on Gauteng freeways since the implementation of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP), which e-tolls were funding.<\/p>\n
“The standard is very high. We need to applaud the work done. The question is, how do you pay?” Nkosi said.<\/p>\n
“Roads should be maintained through the petrol levy… The petrol levy should be developing South Africa’s roads.”<\/p>\n
A slight increase in the levy would have minimal impact on the poor, and did not require any person to administer it.<\/p>\n
Satawu wanted a minimum 1c addition to the fuel levy or an increase in corporate tax.<\/p>\n
The panel is focusing on the implications and perceptions of financing the GFIP and e-tolls.<\/p>\n
On Monday, the Gauteng provincial government announced the panel would embark on a month-long consultation process, starting on Wednesday, with organisations and individuals.<\/p>\n
Organisations were invited to make submissions on the economic, social, and environmental impacts of the GFIP and e-tolls.<\/p>\n
The panel was expected to report to premier David Makhura at the end of November.<\/p>\n
E-toll exemptions and burning your bills<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n R1 billion in unpaid e-toll bills: minister<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n