E-toll operator, the Electronic Toll Corporation (ETC), will have to be shut down if the contentious system is scrapped.

CEO Salahdin Yacoubi says this will result in the loss of 1 400 jobs, including his own, and adds that 65% of ETC employees are less than 30 years of age.

“ETC is a ‘single purpose company’ established in late 2009 (at the time of the contract award by SANRAL to ETC) to deliver the services contracted by Sanral to a joint venture of companies (one South African: TMT, and the other Austrian: Kapsch). Hence ETC cannot do any other businesses than Gauteng open road tolling for SANRAL.”

Retrenched
Yacoubi adds that ETC is not anticipating retrenchment of its employees.

“A subcontractor to ETC was starting (only starting) a process of retrenchment [which was planned prior to the 28 April interdict, and justified by operational adjustment]. That process also stopped [and should] not to be confused with consequences of the interdict.”

He explains that TMT is retrenching 71 employees, because there is a need for much fewer operators than the number recruited and trained. This was decided a while before the North Gauteng High Court interdict.

Surplus staff were hired close to the launch of e-tolling.

Legal battle
The Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance was granted an interdict against the implementation of e-tolling until a full judicial review is carried out.

National Treasury has appealed the interdict and still insists that e-tolling will eventually go ahead.

However, several parties, including organised labour, business, freight associations and political opposition, are calling for a scrapping of the system since the operation fees are too cumbersome and there is no viable public transport alternative in place.

Consultations around the issue are continuing through a Cabinet task team set up to address the matter.

Source: ITWeb