The FF Plus finds it strange the SANRAL an the department of transport now suddenly wishes to submit representations to the E-Toll Review Panel after they had dismissed the panel in public and questioned the legitimacy thereof,” Adv. Anton Alberts, the FF Plus’ parliamentary spokesperson on Transport says.

Adv. Alberts says the criticism of the panel by SANRAL and the department boiled down to contempt of the Constitution as they denied the powers of the provinces in this manner.

He said that it is within the constitutional powers of a premier of a provincial government to institute an investigation into any economic issue within that province and on the basis of this declares a constitutional dispute with the national government and even to go to court to have the national government’s actions reviewed.

“The FF Plus is concerned about the one-side submission that SANRAL and the government will be making to the panel and will therefore be requesting the panel to open the sitting of the panel to the public so that interested parties may immediately react to the panel should SANRAL and the government make false submissions to the panel.

“Interested parties, such as OUTA, will then also have the opportunity to force SANRAL and the government in front of the panel to make disclosures pertaining to the information which has been so difficult to obtain to date, such as the content of the contract between SANRAL end the Austrian service provider Kapsch TraffiCom,” Adv. Alberts says.

Issued by FF Plus