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The Congress of South African Trade Unions demands that the introduction of new tolls on Gauteng roads be suspended so that there can be a proper debate and public consultation on the future of transport in the province. COSATU is totally opposed to the new tolls, which will impose a huge financial burden on poor commuters.

The federation fully supports the upgrading of the road network, which was long overdue. COSATU is also committed to a major overhaul of public transport to make it safer, quicker and more reliable.

However the major problem with the proposed tolls, of up to 66c/km, is that they are to be imposed before viable alternative forms of public transport have been provided.

The federation fully agrees with the ANC Gauteng Provincial Working Committee that “the tolling is going to hugely increase the cost of living and the cost of doing business in Gauteng province. In the absence of an affordable, reliable and efficient public transport system the proposed tolling system will have disastrous consequences for the people of Gauteng.”

The hardest hit will be workers, especially those who live far from their workplace, for very many of whom there will be no alternative but to use tolled roads.

Metrorail services are in total disarray, with trains arriving late or not at all. They cannot be relied upon to get to work on time. The Passenger Rail Agency of SA (PRASA) has announced that 8 600 new coaches for Metrorail will be introduced, but only over the next 18 years, and the first of these are only expected by 2014 0r 2015!

The very expensive Gautrain will benefit only a small wealthy elite of commuters and have a negligible impact on road usage. The Rea Vaya bus system is eventually going to be more useful for the majority but is still only at a very early stage of development.

The underlying problem is that the government’s priorities are completely skewed. It is moving towards a two-tier public transport system. The plan for a high-speed train between Johannesburg and Durban at an estimated cost of R213 billion is the worst example of this elitist approach. It is nearly ten times the massive R25 billion spent on the Gautrain. It is a service which could only be afforded by the super-rich and will take billions of rands away from improving services for the poor majority.

Only the rich will have a choice - between the costly Gautrain or the tolled highways. Meanwhile the poor will have no choice. Most will have to continue to struggle to work in old, unreliable and unpunctual trains, take dangerous and expensive taxis (who will inevitably use the tolls as a reason to put up their fares), drive on untolled roads, which will become even more congested, as motorists try to avoid the toll gantries, or pay the new tolls and suffer a big drop in their standard of living as a result.

The tolls will have serious implications for the decent work agenda agreed upon in the Polokwane Conference and also as part of the ANC Election Manifesto, given that workers spend about 60% of their salaries on transport. As well as increased transport costs, workers will also suffer from the knock-on effects of the tolls on the price of food and other goods in the shops which are also bound to rise to cover the increased cost of transporting them.

Both the COSATU and ANC provincial structures have rightly complained that there has never been consultation within the alliance, with the local municipalities in the Province and or indeed with anyone at all.

We call upon our members, members of the alliance, progressive forces and all people of Gauteng to join COSATU in the fight against these tolls which will cause misery to our people.