Duvenage acts outa civic duty to save SA from corruption
Wayne Duvenage, CEO of Outa, is the face of South African civil action. He is tenacious, committed and unwavering, starting with the Gauteng roads e-tolling system and now tackling the whole spectrum of local and national government incompetence and corruption.
Duvenage credits his team for such efforts, but as the public face of the e-tolls battle, his persistence in the toughest of times is truly valiant.
Speaking at the Free Market Foundation — another tenacious and committed member of SA’s civil society — Duvenage says that just under a decade ago the South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) was undertaking significant road works.
“They were the heroes, addressing congestion. But then we learned of e-tolls and were incredulous that the extra lanes were to be charged for.”
As then CEO of Avis, he engaged with industry colleagues, examining the many defects of such a system: data would not be real time; dispute resolution had not been addressed; studies showed that e-tolling only works in a compliant society with public buy-in; there should be smooth connectivity with other accurate national databases, but half of eNatis is incorrect; it had failed in Portugal and Texas, but worked in London and Stockholm where tolling was focused on public transport issues rather than on widening the roads.
The formation of Outa — in its original focus as Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance — and its numerous court battles and funding problems have been widely reported on. He says SA needed civil disobedience, and e-tolls came at the right time.
“It was an easy matter on which to get public participation, because it was a tax that was difficult to collect. Unlike other taxes, people could continue to drive without paying e-tolls.”
Duvenage expresses serious disappointment at how big business defected as the e-tolls fight gained momentum. He was advised to shut down this cause as legal costs mounted, but he stood firm. He was adamant the government should not benefit from a deceptive campaign.
When the e-tolls system was switched on in 2014, Outa shifted its focus to urging motorists not to pay. The concept is now a spent force, likely to be closed down just ahead of the 2019 general election, to score political points.
What about life after the successful e-tolls opposition? Outa has now become the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse, with a far wider mandate. Grossly dysfunctional municipalities and bankrupt state-owned enterprises are in its sights. It has a crowd-funding model, a fulltime staff of nearly 50 specialists and a legal team that will not cost a fortune.
“It’s tougher than managing 2,500 people at Avis,” reflects Duvenage, emphasising that Outa is relevant to the people of SA, not to big business.
“The small to medium-sized businesses are our huge supporters, as these are the guys who are here to stay. Big business, unfortunately, remains silent while government plunders the public purse, not wanting to risk losing state procurement opportunities.”
SMALL TO MEDIUM BUSINESSES ARE OUR HUGE SUPPORTERS, AS THESE ARE THE GUYS WHO ARE HERE TO STAY
Outa has a designated litigation war chest for its fights, laying charges against state institutions, politicians and ministers. No arrests have been made so far, but Duvenage says that when the rule of law finally takes its course, many people will be in jail. He criticises the accounting standards used by Sanral, Transnet, Denel and Eskom, constantly revaluing their specialist assets in order to lift the balance sheet, which then facilitates their generous interest rate debts, backed by government guarantees. “If these companies were listed on the JSE, they would never get funding.”
With civil society and the media taking on key oversight roles, he implores media houses to sort out the taint of fake news.
On President Cyril Ramaphosa, Duvenage looks forward to the national elections in 2019, when the president will finally be able to let the rule of law prevail.