Six most insulting arguments the government and Sanral used to promote e-tolls

21 May 2015 - 18:16 By Daily Planet
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An e-toll gantry. File photo.
An e-toll gantry. File photo.
Image: Simon Mathebula

Yesterday, our dear deputy president gave a speech where he shared some revisions made to the shouldn’t-have-happened-in-the-first-place e-tolling system.

If you missed it, check out this summary of the most important things to know on Rand Daily Mail.

The government have been trying to sell e-tolling to us, and in the process they’ve said some things worthy of a thousand side-eyes.

Here are just 5 of them.

1. "We have reaffirmed the user-pay principle as a fair, affordable and reliable mechanism to fund infrastructure development." – Cyril Ramaphosa in his speech yesterday.

Affordable... Obviously Cyril does not earn a middle class wage.

2. "The new dispensation demonstrates that cooperative governance works." - Ramaphosa, again

Cooperative governance in this case equals corrupt collusion? Or does it equal coercive exploitation?

3. "To further simplify the process and ensure better integration of road management systems, motorists will need to settle any outstanding e-toll fees before vehicle licence discs are issued." - Yep, you know who

To "simplify the process" of getting more money out of us, yes. If you want to drive a car that is legal on the road, you must pay e-tolls so we can have nice things.

4. From the Sanral website: Tolling is important because it "contributes to improved road safety" and "decreases vehicle operating costs".

For both points, HOW? FOH! How is you taking my money "decreasing vehicle operating costs"? We'll wait.

5. "This project… is not the perfect solution, but doing nothing was not an option." - Transport minister Dipuo Peters

We agree: what kind of government would sit back and let its already cash-strapped citizens have a bit of cash in their pockets? What kind of leadership would that be?

6. "Those who use a facility, you pay R1 or R2. Those toilets need to be maintained. Would you pay (to use a) dirty toilet?"

"Responsible citizens will pay for the open and smooth roads." - Dipou Peters again.

Ever noticed how places that make you pay to use the toilet, don't always seem to clean it?

This article originally appeared on Daily Planet.

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