The Civil Engineering Contractor June 2018 | Page 38

BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE
A rethink on e-tolls
By Kim Kemp
We all hate them. We feel we have been duped and frogmarched into
submission, so, in a momentous act of civil defiance, we refused to bow to the
gantry god. But were we wrong?
It is going to take more than a billboard’s assurance that e-tolls are affordable to woo the public back and regain their
trust around the system.
D
espite our best endeavours
as a province (and country,
ultimately), the notorious
e-toll gantries still stand in Gauteng —
a grim reminder that they are not going
anywhere, almost sinisterly waiting.
For the first time in decades, South
Africa stood firm against what they
saw as governmental dictatorship,
as an unreasonable foisting of public
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responsibility onto the shoulders of
Joe Citizen, who was expected to
reach deep into its communal pocket
and pay to use the roads. The audacity!
The key objection was the widespread
belief that there had been no
consultation, that the gantries went up
overnight, and that the cost to adhere
to the system would be financially
extreme for individuals and vehicle
fleets alike, ultimately impacting on
the economy. The argument soon arose
that the fuel levy should be used
to fund road repairs, maintenance,
and new roads. And Gauteng —
largely — stood firm, refusing to pay
what they saw as the South African
National Roads Agency’s (SANRAL’s)
unacceptable abuse of the taxpayer.
SANRAL became the villain, derided,