It’s final – e-tolls will be scrapped: ANC
Following reports that the African National Congress (ANC) is
looking to scrap e-tolls in Gauteng, the party has now
confirmed that it is actively taking steps at reviewing the
controversial system.
This is according to newly elected deputy chairperson of
the ANC in Gauteng, Panyaza Lesufi, who was speaking to Talk
Radio 702’s Karima Brown
on Monday (23 July).
Lesufi said that the people of Gauteng are still opposed
to e-tolls, and that many have advised that the system is in
need of a complete overhaul.
He said that following recent conference talks, the Gauteng ANC
planned to publish a formal stance on the termination of
e-tolls sometime in August 2018.
“On the basis of this advice we felt that we should allow this
debate to die forever,” he said.
“The conference has taken a very firm decision to ensure that
e-tolls are terminated immediately. We just need to put a
mechanism in place to realise this decision”.
However, Lesufi avoided the question of how Gauteng’s
roads will be funded and maintained going forward, instead
stating that the province first needs to ‘let go’ of the
current system.
“The reality is these e-tolls are unpopular with our people and
as a popular movement, how do we go the opposite direction of
that particular feeling,” he said.
“We have taken a decision, let those e-tolls be terminated and
let the team that will manage this process engage on those
modalities to check the costs, the running and all other
related matters.”
Alternative uses for gantries?
Lesufi noted that a series of discussions had also surrounded
the logistics of scrapping the system – notably what would
happen to the gantries left standing following the scrapping of
e-tolls.
Some of the proposals include the continued use of gantries to
help fight crime, as well as a monitoring system to help
measure the flow of traffic in the province.
“The majority of crime activities in our province involve a
motor vehicle – either it is hijacked or stolen and used in a
separate crime,” he said.
“The argument is instead of using a ‘stone-age’, we should
engrave the number plates so that gantries can read them, and
if the car is stolen it can be tracked.”
Read: ANC wants to scrap e-tolls:
report
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