E toll protest

http://www.iol.co.za/motoring/industry-news/e-tolls-cosatu-call-to-arms-1.1278473

"The Congress of SA Trade Unions is mobilising its two million members for the mother of all protests against the act of highway robbery set to be committed from 30 April 2012 - the Gauteng e-tolls," spokesperson Patrick Craven said in a statement.

"We are confident that we will be joined by many thousands more angry residents and motorists who support our demand for the scrapping of these tolls."

Cosatu is planning several rallies, marches, demonstrations and night vigils at the offices of the SA National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) and the transport department across the country from April 23.

These would lead up to a large "national stay-away or socio-economic strike" on April 30.

Craven said opposition to the tolls was "overwhelming", especially to the new punitive rate which will be applied to motorists who do not get windscreen-mounted e-tags.

"These threats will have the exact opposite effect. They will infuriate people and make them even more determined to follow Cosatu's advice not to register and not to buy an e-tag," he said.

"In the end, however, it is the pressure of the masses which will force government to back down. People power has brought down governments in North Africa; it can surely stop this assault on our living standards."

On March 7 thousands of people participated in Cosatu's nationwide march against the tolls.

Sanral gazetted the new tariffs on Friday.

Alternate users (people without e-tags) will be charged R1.75/km, compared to the standard tariff of 30c/km for registered users.

It said the higher fee was because of the need to recover costs, including invoicing and debt collection.

Court bid

On Tuesday, several organisations and political parties raised concerns about the tariffs and asked Sanral to postpone the launch.

The SA Chamber of Commerce and Industry said it was "concerned by the uncertainty" surrounding the fee system and the exemptions for public transport.

"This makes a clear case for delaying implementation until there is clarity on the toll fees and exemptions for certain road users," it said.

Business Unity SA (Busa) called for a delay in implementation until the public's concerns had been fully addressed.

"Unless these serious practical problems can be timeously resolved, Busa sincerely believes that the magnitude of challenges facing the e-toll system in Gauteng justify delaying its implementation... to a later date."

Afrikaner lobby group AfriForum instructed its lawyers on Tuesday to urgently prepare court papers in an attempt to stop the launch.

"The public is asked to wait for the outcome of the proposed legal action of AfriForum and other groups, before deciding whether to register for e-toll at all," said AfriForum chief executive Kallie Kriel said.

The National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said the tariffs would severely impact its ability to rescue animals.

"We do not receive any funds whatsoever from national or local government and exemption from Sanral was denied... [we are] now in a position whereby we shall have no option but to use public funds to pay for our vehicles to be allowed onto freeways as we go to assist animals," it said.

On Monday, National Consumer Commissioner Mamodupi Mohlala said she would look into a complaint by the Democratic Alliance about the punitive rate.

Latest news on e toll

It's getting to crunch time and it looks like the government and Sanral will win this war. For all it seemed this would be the mark of a great nation saying "no we will not take it anymore" to a corrupt government, it looks now like the ANC will get their way with yet another way to ensure that politicians get richer and the rest of us get poorer. Despite numerous talks by numerous groups, only one real protest has been organized, and the government shrugged its shoulders and said "who cares what you think"

http://www.citizen.co.za/citizen/content/en/citizen/local-news?oid=270847&sn=Detail&pid=146826&%E2%80%98Tolling-will-be-stopped%E2%80%99


http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Re-registration-for-Gauteng-tolls-DA-20120411


http://www.fin24.com/Economy/Sanral-revises-e-toll-terms-20120411

http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/2012/04/12/sanral-promises-to-allay-e-toll-fears


http://www.iol.co.za/business/business-news/sanral-e-toll-impounding-not-true-1.1271351

So now we can only hope that the nationwide plan to boycott the system by refusing to buy e tags or pay the fines will work in shutting down the entire money making scheme.

                                                                   Are you in?

e-toll protest action

 

MEDIA STATEMENT

SUBJECT                               :           FF Plus launches protest action against e-toll system

ISSUED BY                           :            Adv. Anton Alberts

CAPACITY                            :            FF Plus parliamentary spokesperson: Transport

DATE                                      :           27 March 2012

The Freedom Front Plus together with the National Taxpayer’s Union (NTU), the South African Caravan Association (SACA) and motor cyclists from various clubs will be launching a protest action against the Gauteng e-tolls system on Thursday morning 29March 2012 at 07:00. The protest action will be a continuous process which will continue until the end of April in order to show the government that the public is not satisfied with its decision to continue with the e-tolls.

“We want to force government to scrap the toll system completely. The government has to understand that the public‘s opposition against the system will not go away. That is why we are launching the protest action which will consist of various elements and will continue over a period of a month,” Adv. Anton Alberts, the FF Plus’ parliamentary spokesperson on transport says. “We believe that the general protest will also carry the seed for the systematic development of a general tax protest against exorbitant taxes and poor service delivery,” Alberts added.

The protest action will consist of the following:

·        From 07:00 on Thursday 29 March 2012 a cavalcade of caravans motors and motorbikes with protest banners on the highways of Johannesburg and between Johannesburg and Pretoria.

·        Throughout April the action will be repeated if the government does not react positively to the protest.

·        There will be various collections at busy intersections where motorists will be asked to make a donation toward funding legal action in exchange for a protest sticker.

·        The FF Plus Youth will also launch various virtual protest actions.

All motorists are welcome to follow the convoy with their vehicle lights switched on. The convoy will depart at 07:00 from the Shell Ultra City on the Ben Schoeman Highway for Johannesburg.