DA takes e-toll protest to Gauteng premier's office

04 March 2015 - 12:31 By Sapa
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Hundreds of cars make their way home under one of the many e-toll gantries on the N1 motorway that runs around much of Johannesburg.
Hundreds of cars make their way home under one of the many e-toll gantries on the N1 motorway that runs around much of Johannesburg.
Image: HALDEN KROG

Around 100 people gathered in front of Gauteng premier David Makhura's office in central Johannesburg on Wednesday morning to picket against his failure to call for a referendum on e-tolls.

"Zuma thupa e etla (Zuma a beating is coming)," picketers wearing blue Democratic Alliance T-shirts sang in Sotho.

Other DA supporters blew whistles and waved flags in Simmonds Street, while most held posters that read: "Referendum now".

They later began chanting: "We don't want e-tolls, we don't".

DA Gauteng leader John Moodey was expected to address the crowd later in the morning before handing a memorandum to Makhura.

In his state-of-the-province address last week, Makhura promised "major financial relief" to motorists.

"The provincial government is part of the current consultation process... to develop a better dispensation which will mitigate the negative impact of the e-tolls on the people of Gauteng, especially the middle and lower income groups," he said at the time.

"I am confident that the new dispensation should provide major financial relief to motorists, while simplifying the payment system to make it easy for road users to pay."

The provincial government was part of talks about e-tolls being led by Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa.

He said the final decision on the new dispensation would be made once the intergovernmental team had completed its work, after receiving a report from the e-toll review panel.

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