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It is astounding to hear that SANRAL is now “rubbishing reports” by a credible international financial news organisation like Bloomberg with respect to the extent of the monies Kapsch TrafficCom AG are boasting they will receive from Gauteng’s eTolling project.
 
The report, which originated with Bloomberg directly quoted Kapsh board member, Andre Laux as saying that “all judicial and parliamentary hurdles are out of the way” and “the South African system will provide annual revenue of significantly more than 50 million euros for eight years.”
 
Firstly, unless the Supreme Court of Appeals is not considered to be a “Judicial hurdle”, we should be very worried about the state of the South African Judicial system.  OUTA’s matter is due before the SCA on 25 and 26 September 2013.
 
Secondly, it is doubtful that a board member of an Austrian listed public company like Kapsch TrafficCom AG would overtly lie to the media about the financial injection anticipated by his company which has allegedly seen an 18 percent decline in its share price this year.
 
R5.3 billion (over 8 years) is an awful lot of money to see leaving Gauteng, or more accurately; Johannesburg and Tshwane, instead of being spent on infrastructure development.  What exactly “significantly more” means should also be questioned.
 
It must be borne in mind that the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Programme (GFIP) only applies to these two cities at the moment – not to Gauteng as a Province or the whole of South Africa as such.  It must also be borne in mind that this haemorrhaging taxpayers’ money will not constitute the full extent of things, given that eTolling is planned to be rolled out to other Cities and Provinces in South Africa as part of the plan.
 
COSATU, which was allegedly given copies of the contracts between SANRAL and the contractors involved in eTolling today tweeted” “#COSATU is appalled that Austrian e-tolling company,Kapsch TrafficCom,expects to rake in annual revenue of 50m Euros(R664 million)every year.”

If this is the first time that COSATU has come to learn the true extent of the revenues that are to be exported from South Africa to Austria’s Kapsch TrafficCom;  then one has to ask what possible meaningful public consultations have taken place and how it is that SANRAL feels that the “mere mortals” upon which eTolls will be imposed have been in a position to make any valid and meaningful contributions to this process.

Whilst it has been the habit of SANRAL to “rubbish reports” by South African journalists, it is simply unbelievable that they are now seeking to do the same to Bloomberg and SANRAL’s partner, Kapsch TrafficCom.  To claim that either of these organisations would have an anti-eToll agenda would be bizarre to say the least.

eTolls are and remain an enormously unpopular concept in South Africa and the now-known extent of the irrational costs associated with them have simply fuelled the fire that is brewing in our community.  However, SANRAL now turning on their own co-conspirators has most certainly brought a new dynamic to the table.

On Saturday 15 June, more than 2000 motorcyclists in Johannesburg and 1500 in Cape Town are expected to ride in protest to eTolls.  It would be presumptuous to assume that this quantum or the 200 odd motor cars involved in the recent COSATU “drive slows” protests represent the true of the extent of the extent of public dissent with eTolling and the proof of the pudding will come when SANRAL actually implements this irrational system and tries to make citizens eat it.