Residents say system takes its toll on the poor

Gauteng residents came out with guns blazing yesterday at an e-tolls public hearing in Randfontein, west of Johannesburg.

Community members at the hearing blamed the government for not consulting them before implementing the system.

"These public engagements are just an insult to our intelligence. These e-tolls have been nothing but a big wound on every road user," said one resident.

Toekomsrus businessman Ali Mosina Toekomsrus said the costs of e-tolls were being carried over to the poor indirectly.

"When I buy goods, I have to bear in mind the cost of the e-tolls, hence I increase the prices and the poor bear the brunt of high costs."