Parliament is rushing through amendments to legislation required for Gauteng’s e-tolls with a National Assembly debate on the bill scheduled for Thursday — a day or two after public hearings and committee deliberations.

This is despite strong opposition from the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), which warned the transport portfolio committee that if the Transport Laws and Related Matters and Amendment Bill was not withdrawn and e-tolling scrapped, there would be protest action on November 30.

The bill is necessary to allow for electronic toll collection and for a differentiated tariff regime which would give discounts to e-tag holders.

Cosatu and the South African Local Government Association (Salga) made presentations to the transport committee yesterday, but Business Unity South Africa was unable to make a presentation “due to the short notice and urgency with which the African National Congress is conducting the process”, the organisation said in a written submission on Wednesday.

Jane Barrett, Cosatu’s organising development co-ordinator, said in a written submission that the bill was being rushed through “in an unprecedented manner”.

Democratic Alliance (DA) transport spokesman Ian Ollis said on Wednesday the DA would ask for a postponement of the debate to next year to allow for adequate consultation and deliberation.

He accused ANC members on the committee of trying to “ram through” the draft legislation.

Of concern to both Cosatu and the DA was that there was no provision in the bill for parliamentary oversight of the regulations and the setting of tariffs, which was left to the discretion of Transport Minister Ben Martins.

Business Unity South Africa and the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry opposed the bill’ s tasking of the Cross-Border Road Transport Agency to collect tolls on behalf of the South African National Road Agency Limited (Sanral).

Business Unity South Africa said the financially mismanaged agency had just received a qualified audit opinion, while the chamber noted that toll collection was not a core part of its operations.

The Banking Association of South Africa asked that the bill subject e-toll users to the National Credit Act. Currently, the draft legislation exempts users to prevent the creation of a “super creditor” which would enjoy preference in having its credit paid first to the detriment of all others. The association said the e-toll tariffs would hit consumers already struggling to meet their financial commitments.

Salga supported the bill, but proposed an amendment to the Sanral and National Roads Act which would require that, before Sanral applied for ministerial approval for toll roads, there would be a study of its effect on the ability of communities to access work on local roads.

The study would also have to include measures to mitigate the effects of the toll roads, Salga urged.

Ms Barrett proposed that an increase in the fuel levy could be used to fund the R20bn spent on improvements to Gauteng’s freeway. This increase would not have to be large and would be “easily absorbed”, she said.

Alternatively, the “ultra rich could be taxed more” or prescribed assets used as a mechanism to raise funds to pay for the improvements.

Cosatu said the real solution to congested urban transport was not bigger and better roads, but mass public transport. It predicted Gauteng’s freeways would again be congested in five to 10 years’ time.

Ms Barrett referred to estimates that suggested that over time, 40c in every rand collected through the tolls would be used for administration.

Next Monday the North Gauteng High Court is due to begin a review — won after a court battle by the Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance — to declare the proposed tolling of the highway invalid.

Alliance spokesman Wayne Duvenage said recently the protest on November 30 mooted by Cosatu was “likely to draw thousands of Gauteng residents who previously would never contemplate such public protest, but are now fired up and brimming with frustration to seize this opportunity to send a message to the authorities on this emotive matter”.

 

 

Source: http://www.bdlive.co.za