The FF Plus views the long-awaited shutdown of the e-toll system on 11 April 2024 as a very important victory for the people over the ANC
It should be kept in mind that the ANC imposed the e-toll system on the people of Gauteng without a proper public participation process. The FF Plus is convinced that if such a process had been followed, as is required by the Constitution and several Constitutional Court rulings, most Gauteng residents would have voted against the planned e-toll and it would never have been implemented.
The fact that the system was constructed without any regard for public participation by the people of the province is symbolic of the way the ANC has been governing the country so far. Senseless projects are invented and tenders are accordingly awarded to ANC cadres and, eventually, those funds find their way back to the ANC.
It was not at all necessary to burden the existing highways in Gauteng, which had already been built and paid off during the previous dispensation, with new debt.
That is one of the reasons why the people revolted against it; they realised that road users would have to pay for something that was not really necessary.
The FF Plus notes SANRAL’s statement that road users will still have to pay e-toll fees until midnight on 11 April 2024 as well as pay up all outstanding bills.
The FF Plus deems it unacceptable. Therefore, the party will investigate to determine whether legal action can be taken to successfully write off outstanding bills and reclaim money already paid for e-toll bills.
The FF Plus is of the opinion that scrapping e-toll during Panyaza Lesufi’s administration will not keep the ANC from imploding in Gauteng, because the people already know that the entire failed system was the ANC’s brainchild.
The FF Plus opposed the e-toll system right from the outset and even approached the court, as part of the Tollgate Action Group, to try and stop e-tolls.
The ANC ultimately caved under the pressure from the party and civil organisations.
This should serve as a lesson: It is possible to defeat the ANC.
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