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The FF Plus is still of the opinion that the e-toll system is unconstitutional and advises the public not to buy e-tags as it would only make it easier to enforce the illegal system.

“By not buying a tag, the public can ensure that the e-toll system fails,” Adv. Anton Alberts, the Freedom front Plus’ parliamentary spokesperson on Transport says.

The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) has approved the Transport Laws and Related Issues Amendment Bill and president Zuma will have to sign off on it before it is enacted.

The president has on a previous occasion referred a Bill, the Intellectual Property Rights Amendment Bill, back to the national assembly and the FF Plus intends to petition the president to refer this bill back to parliament on the same basis.

“In the meantime the court case of the Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance (Outa) who is opposing the toll system in court, is still continuing and the FF Plus supports any action which is opposing the toll system,” Adv. Alberts says.

According to Adv. Alberts, the FF Plus has discovered that the eNatis system which will be used to track unregistered toll road users, can only manage 160 000 enquiries a day.

“If the public protest against this system is big enough and hundreds of thousands of unregistered vehicles drive on the roads, the system will collapse as it won’t be able to deal with the masses of enquiries. Other authorities, such as the licensing and traffic authorities also make use of this system on a daily basis.

“SANRAL will just not be capable to create and send out payment notices. The shortcomings of the system will result in SANRAL increasingly falling behind in obtaining the correct consumer information and establish accountability for payments.

“It will also breach a fundamental principle of fairness that all people will be treated equally before the courts as e-tag holders will be the only group which will consistently be held accountable,” Adv. Alberts said.

He also says that motorists should not be intimidated by workers of SANRAL to register for the e-toll e-tags as it is, according to all indications, illegal as a law which requires people to register for the e-tags does not exist.

“It is merely a product and consumers have the option to acquire it. That is why the FF Plus advises that nobody acquires the e-tags in order to make the e-toll system practically unenforceable,” he says.