Over 2 000 summons issued for failure to pay e-tolls
Other courts listed in the SMSs are Meyerton, Pretoria, Durban, Thembisa, Johannesburg, Kempton Park and Palmridge
COMMUNICATIONS director of Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA), Rob Hutchinson recently posted in the Facebook group “I love Edenvale” saying that he recently visited the Roodepoort Magistrates Court to investigate case numbers which are being sent out to the public via SMS.
Hutchinson said the SMS’s states that a summon has been issued from the Roodepoort court for failure to pay e-tolls and a case number (which are real) is listed.
Other courts listed in the SMSs are Meyerton, Pretoria, Durban, Thembisa, Johannesburg, Kempton Park and Palmridge.
“We need to inform these communities that over 2 000 summons have in fact been issued from these courts, but these are highly contestable cases which must be defended. If the sheriff does visit, please accept it without signing liability, and contact OUTA immediately. This is legit but nothing to worry about. We visited the courts recently and can confirm the case numbers in the SMSs are real,” he said.
Hutchinson added that a mass defence strategy is what will beat this and stated that all OUTA members will receive full legal defence if summonsed for the non-payment of e-tolls.
Here are the links to the details on how members of the public can defend themselves against e-toll summonses: https://www.outa.co.za/site/summonsed/ and their press room: https://www.outa.co.za/site/press-room/
Vusi Mona, general manager of communications at SANRAL said summonses have been issued as part of normal debt collection processes and the law must run its course.
“SANRAL is an agency of government and bound by the prescripts of the Public Finance Management Act, and therefore has an obligation to collect what is owed to the state. It is the same process used by for example SARS and retail clothing stores and so on, ” he said.
