Refund e-toll users: Fedusa

Those who had paid money towards their e-toll bill should be refunded and e-tolling should be scrapped, the Federation of Unions of SA said on Wednesday (27/08/2014).

"People who have paid money to the e-toll system should be refunded," Fedusa spokesman Junior Gys told the advisory panel on e-tolling and its socio-economic impact in Johannesburg.

"E-tolling should never have been implemented."

Their reasons were due to the lack of consultation with the residents of roads, and e-toll collection being expensive and a burden.

"The same people who are not being consulted through this process are the ones expected to pay for e-tolling," Gys said in a brief presentation to the panel.

The fuel levy would be a more fair way of recouping the funds needed for Gauteng's freeways and road infrastructure, he said.

In its current form, e-tolling economically challenged Gauteng residents, and a person not paying their e-tolls faced possible blacklisting.

Gys said Fedusa had always maintained that the e-toll system was costly and would have a negative impact on the poor, as the rich would be the only ones who could afford e-tags.

"We believe the poorest of the poor will be negatively impacted," Gys said.

The panel would focus on the implications and perceptions of financing the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP) and e-tolls.

The Gauteng provincial government is holding a month-long consultation process over the project, starting on Wednesday, with organisations and individuals.

Organisations were invited to make submissions on the economic, social, and environmental impacts of the GFIP and e-tolls, and how e-tolling's costs and benefits were distributed across society and the economy.

The panel was expected to report to premier David Makhura at the end of November. - Sapa