After a lengthy court battle initiated by the City of Cape Town, the Supreme Court of Appeal ruled yesterday that court papers detailing the project - which Sanral has been trying to keep under wraps - must be made public.
The papers show that Capetonians will pay almost three times more in toll tariffs than Gauteng motorists, and that the preferred bidder, Protea Parkways Consortium (PPC) , will make R48bn over its concession period.
Councillor Brett Herron said Sanral had been unable to provide any evidence that the decision for the Winelands toll roads had been discussed at board level, as required by the Sanral Act.
"We asked for [a copy of] the board's decision to declare the Winelands a toll area. They couldn't produce the minutes of the board and it became clear that there was no board meeting that took that decision. So [Sanral CEO Nazir] Alli took the decision."
Alli is reportedly being investigated by Sanral for the alleged forgery of court documents in another legal battle involving a proposed toll road on the Wild Coast. Several documents filed in court by community leaders supporting the toll plan were shown to contain forged signatures.
The City of Cape Town has since 2012 been embroiled in a protracted legal battle in the Cape Town High Court over the proposed N1/N2 Winelands Toll Highway project.
In 2013, the city obtained an interdict preventing Sanral from continuing with its plans until a court review had determined if "the project has been legally approved".
The application for the review will be heard on 11 August.
Last year, Protea Parkways Consortium and Sanral applied to the high court for an order preventing the city from filing its supplementary papers in open court.
Judge Ashley Binns-Ward granted the application in August but the Supreme Court of Appeal overturned that decision yesterday.
City councillor Herron said that if the tolling went ahead Western Cape residents and visitors would have to fork out 84.59c/km for light vehicles, as opposed to the 30c/km in Gauteng. He said the toll tariffs for light vehicles were capped at R450 a month in Gauteng but Protea Parkways Consortium had made no such provision.
The proposal is to build tolls where the R300 and the N2 meet around the Swartklip interchange, and the R300 meets the N1 near Brackenfell.
The other affected areas fall under the Theewaterskloof and Breede Valley local municipalities.
Sanral spokesman Vusi Mona said: "Sanral respects the judicial process and adheres to the rule of law; the roads agency will discuss the matter with its legal representatives before making any public announcements."
Wayne Duvenage, chairman of the Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance (Outa), which campaigned against the e-tolling in Gauteng, welcomed the Supreme Court of Appeal ruling.
Cormac Cullinan, an attorney representing Eastern Cape communities opposed to Sanral's proposed tolling of the N2 Wild Coast route, told The Times yesterday that the affidavits submitted along with Alli's response in the Pretoria High Court had been found to be forged.
Source: The Times, via I-Net Bridge
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