Open letter to Pravin Gordhan

Stan Hill of Northcliff writes:

It has been reported that board members of the Austrian toll-road systems maker Kapsch TrafficCom AG’s have been bragging that they will receive an annual boost of 50 million Euros (R660,000,000 per annum) from Gauteng’s e-tolls.

Andre Laux a board member of Kapsch the Austrian toll collection company told a press conference in Vienna that the Gauteng system will provide annual revenue of “significantly more than 50 million euros (R675,000,000)” which for five years is 250 million euros (R3,375,000,000).

“All judicial and parliamentary hurdles are out of the way,” Laux added.

Laux appears to be making assumptions about the outcome of the Supreme Court of Appeal case – he said this weeks before the court case on 25 September.

What did Laux know that we did not? Was the court case prejudged?

All of this money will come out of the pockets of motorists and the people of South Africa including the “poorest of the poor”!

How many hospitals could be upgraded, how many houses built, how many schools built with this money?

You stated on Radio 702 that a Gauteng fuel levy would not provide enough funds to pay for the roads. Nobody has ever said it should be a Gauteng-only fuel levy. It must obviously be a national fuel levy.

The fuel levy infrastructure is already in place so a simple fuel levy would cost nothing, except for a minimal administration fee, saving this R4.8 billion. All contractual commitments and debts could also be paid from the levy. Once these are paid the levy could be reduced.

A cheap and efficient road infrastructure benefits the whole country not only the immediate users of a road. Cheap and efficient mobility is at the heart of a successful economy. Even Hitler, stupid as he was, understood this when he built the autobahns without tolling.

No-one is objecting to paying for the roads. It is the grossly unfair and expensive way of tolling our roads that is not acceptable. Paying via a fuel levy is fairer and far more acceptable.

The user pays principle does not stand up to even the most superficial examination. Why does the Government keep bailing out SAA? Surely the user pays principle should apply here with the users of the airline paying? Similarly, why should one, who is not in the slightest bit interested in football, have to pay for white elephant football stadiums? Surely the users should pay? Users of the roads are already paying through the fuel levy but the user pays principle does not seem to apply here. Why?

The minister of transport has apparently opened a number of new roads recently. Why are they not tolled? Why this discrimination?

You frivolously raised the fuel levy in last year’s budget and again this year and probably in previous years. Where is this money going?

Why are taxis exempt? They are profit making entities apparently awash with money talking about starting airlines and shipping companies. They do not mainly transport the poorest of the poor as Sanral says. Their main business is during peak hours taking workers to and from work. These people are not the “poorest of the poor”. The reason they are exempt is because Sanral/Government are terrified of them knowing that if they were made to pay they would bring he whole system crashing around Sanral’s ears.

It is the stated objective of Sanral to prevent as many motorists as possible from using the toll roads. They say it is to reduce congestion on these roads.

This is surely discrimination at its worst, immoral, unfair and surely unconstitutional.

The proposed tolling of our roads is undemocratic, wasteful, exploitative, discriminatory, grossly unfair and very likely, unconstitutional.

You could, overnight, end the controversy and ill feeling over the tolling of our roads by simply announcing that you have heeded motorists objections and, in true democratic fashion, have decided to fund our roads with a minimal increase in the fuel levy to the benefit of the whole country.

Why do you not do that?

Your answers to all of the above would be appreciated.

Editor's note: THis letter has been forwarded to Minister Gordhan's office. We look forward to receiving a response soon.