CELEBRATIONS GREET INTERDICT ON E-TOLL
THE government was dealt a heavy blow yesterday when High Court Judge Bill Prinsloo pulled the handbrake on the controversial e-toll system that was scheduled to start tomorrow.
The blow comes after Cosatu and the ANC also reached an agreement to postpone the launch of the system to May 30.
Sunday World understands that the meeting between the ANC and Cosatu on Thursday reached an agreement on how to finance the e-tolling system. However, the plan has not been made public. It is not clear if the plan will ease the burden on Gauteng motorists.
Those who attended the meeting mantain that the ANC realise the implications if it pushes for motorists to pay but the problem is that government does not have money to carry the cost.
The other challenge is that there are no regulations in place to manage the system and transport minister Sbu Ndebele submitted proposed regulations to be published in the Government Gazette late, a move that was heavily attacked by the judge.
Yesterday, Prinsloo granted the Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance’s (Outa) an urgent interdict to delay e-tolling pending a final court review.
The ruling means that Gauteng motorists will not start paying to use the improved freeways from tomorrow as government had planned.
Judge Prinsloo’s ruling was met with wild celebrations by Outa while officials from the Department of Transport and SA National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) left disappointed. This dealt the government a heavy blow as minister Ndebele boldly declared this week that the e-tolling system was a “done deal”.
While Outa chairperson Wayne Duvenage was battling to contain tears of joy as he hugged other members of the organisation, government representatives came out of court with their heads down.
“This is an incredible day. It’s history,” said a delighted Duvenhage.
Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi – on Twitter – said the biggest lesson is that “the people united will never be defeated – well done for uniting irrespective of other usual differences”.
Outa filed an urgent court application to stop the transport department, Sanral and the National Treasury from levying Gauteng road users from tomorrow.
Judge Prinsloo said: “I’m persuaded that the applicant had a prima facie right to argue for a review of the e-toll project in Gauteng. I make the following order that the first respondent is interdicted and restrained from levying and collecting tolls with immediate ef fect,” he said.
He said minister Ndebele was misled on most of the information presented to him.
He said the minister and Sanral refused to disclose how much they were they going to charge motorists in their founding affidavit.
“This justifies the review of the present purpose,” said Prinsloo.
In handing down his judgment, Prinsloo said that tens of thousands of people were likely to be negatively affected by the project. People will suffer financially if the interim relief is not granted, he said.
Prinsloo read out affidavits by four individuals who described their hardships and how the e-toll project would affect them.
One of the four people, Tshidi Letsatsi, said the e-toll will leave her with only R500 after her monthly expenses of R6 000.
She said in her affidavit that she earns only R7 000 and travels from Boksburg to Illovo, in the north of Joburg. Prinsloo says Gauteng road users have been held captive by the e-toll. “In my view the nationwide protests lend the applicants support,” Prinsloo said.
He said the road network that would be tolled was “massively populated ” on a daily basis because there were no quality metropolitan or secondary roads available.
“The are no alternative roads for motorists. The current alternatives are congested on their own.”
Prinsloo said that while he realised Sanral would suffer losses, members of the public would also suffer hardship if the controversial project went ahead. The cost of the application was reserved.
Owen Blumberg, a member of Outa’s legal team, said they were hoping for “this kind of judgment”.
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Already, there are members who have distanced themselves from the amendment, saying the constitution was not changed at the congress.
Some youth leaders intend to write to the ANC national executive committee to ask it to review Malema’s, league secretary and spokesman Sindiso Magaqa’s and Floyd Shivambu’s sentences respectively.
The three are out in the cold after Malema was expelled, while Magaqa has been suspended for a year and Shivambu for five years. They have all vacated their positions in the youth league.
Malema had hoped Magaqa would remain in the league to fight his battle.
In November, when the NDC announced Malema’s suspension, the league said it would not recognise the decision, in line with its constitution. It is believed this was based on the contentious amendment.
The NDC had recommended that Malema be suspended for five years before it later recommended that he be expelled.