Defiant Vavi says no to revised freeway tolls

Defiant Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi has reiterated his call for civil disobedience following Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan's announcement yesterday that the Gauteng freeway tolling system would start operating in April.

Tolls for regular freeway users will be capped at R550 a month.

The Automobile Association has threatened to take the government to court over the tolling system.

Delivering his budget speech, Gordhan said the Treasury would give the SA National Roads Agency more than R5-billion to help it repay of the R20-billion it borrowed to fund the Gauteng freeway improvement project.

The money, Gordhan said, wouldhelp subsidise motorists' toll fees.

But Vavi would have none of it.

"We will not compromise; we just don't have the R500 to pay," he said.

"To our people [I say], 'Don't buy those e-tags. Defy this thing. We will not be used as a cash cow to profit some foreign investors'."

The new tariff lowers the per-kilometre fee for private vehicles from 40c to 30c for those with e-tags.

Gordhan said the new toll fee structure would result in a 20% discount for heavy-duty vehicles outside peak hours. Commuter buses and taxis would be exempt from tolls.

Frequent users will qualify for a 15% discount when their toll fee account accumulates to R400 in a single month.

Motorbikes will be charged 20c a kilometre per trip, small trucks will pay 75c a kilometre and bigger trucks R1.51 a kilometre.

The tolling of Gauteng freeways was introduced to help Sanral pay back more than R59-billion it borrowed to upgrade roads nationally.

Business SA deputy CEO Raymond Parsons described the new fee structure as a compromise, saying the government had come a long way towards meeting the demands of various groups.

Gordhan was quick to point out that Gauteng's tolling would not necessarily be adopted as a funding formula for other roads improvements, such as the expansion of the N2 between KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape.

Transport Minister S'bu Ndebele said the Gauteng government would prioritise the rejuvenation of the R55 and R101 between Johannesburg and Pretoria, which could be used by motorists who could not afford the freeway tolls.

"We hope there is going to be voluntary compliance by motorists in Gauteng. It's a beautiful road and someone has got to pay for it."

Ndebele said his department would later this year table a bill outlining measures to be taken against those who did not comply with the tolling requirements.