Unpaid e-toll fees: Pay up or your vehicle licence disc will be withheld
The e-toll controversy still rages in Gauteng and could affect you if you have travelled there and picked up a fine.
According to the Automobile Association (AA), the South African National Roads Agency Limited’s (SANRAL) statement that the non-payment of e-tolls will result in motorists being unable to renew vehicle licence discs is outrageous, dishonest and irregular.
A report in a Sunday newspaper referred to a section on SANRAL’s website that reads:
Outstanding toll fees to be settled before renewal of vehicle licence disc:
“The non-payment of toll may result in road users not being issued with their vehicle license disc, upon renewal of the vehicle license. Road users will be able to renew licences, but the disc itself will be withheld until the outstanding toll related infringements have been settled.”
According to the AA, this inclusion on SANRAL’s website is not new, but it remains up and is referenced by SANRAL as its position on non-payment of tolls despite the fact that government still has to pronounce on the future of e-tolls in Gauteng.
“This paragraph gives the impression that the issue of e-tolls is finalised when, in fact, it is still very much in the air. By suggesting through this wording on their website (and alluding to such in interviews) that this is a done deal, SANRAL is again demonstrating how desperate it is to coerce the public into paying for something they have taken a principled stand against paying,” says the AA.
The Association says many organisations, including itself, consulted the Minister of Transport on the issue of e-tolls and the way forward. A resolution to the e-toll issue, specifically relating to the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP), was to be given at the end of April last year. That was postponed to the end of March this year now being tabled as the date on which an announcement regarding the future of e-tolls will be made.
The AA says it repeats its previous calls to SANRAL to adopt a more consultative, approachable stance towards motorists in Gauteng, rather than attempt to bully them into compliance
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