No obligation on motorists to buy e-tags

"I am of the view that the public will be entitled at this stage to claim back the R50.00 or whatever amount they have paid for the e-tags and return the e-tags to SANRAL. The public purchased the e-tags with the understanding that e-tolling will be implemented on 30 April 2012. This did not happen and may not happen for many months or may never happen. The public do not need to have e-tags by 31 May 2012," Conradie says.

"I believe that this is the beginning of a new phase where the people of South Africa will stand together to force government to make rational decisions and decisions which are fair and to the benefit of the people of South Africa and the country in itself. It is time that the government realises that it serves the people of South Africa and not the other way around."

Scrapping the system should be considered

Conradie says that government will now have to consider whether it will apply for leave to appeal. "In my opinion, another court will not arrive at a different decision as that of Judge Prinsloo and that the government will have difficulty in persuading him to grant them leave to appeal. Furthermore, with such a public outcry and opposition to the e-tolling scheme, it would perhaps also be insensitive and unwise of government to apply for leave to appeal. In view of the opposition to the e-tolling by the people of Gauteng and also the people of South Africa, the government should carefully consider whether it wishes to take the court process further and whether it should not rather scrap the e-toll system and introduce something acceptable to the people of Gauteng."

Conradie explains that the Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance (OUTA) will now wait for the record of all the documents and information the various Ministers considered when it made the determination to proceed with e-tolling. With regard to the contract between SANRAL and the e-tolling consortium, a copy will be requested as part of the record as surely the Minister of Transport should have considered any agreement between SANRAL and foreign contractors, as such agreement must have an effect on the price for using the roads to be paid by the public. This has a direct impact on the tariffs to be paid by the public.

He says that how long e-tolling will be put on hold, depends a lot about the conduct of the government from now on and when OUTA will receive a full record to their satisfaction as requested in the court papers. This process may take two or three months. However, with the pressure from COSATU on the government to investigate other ways of financing the maintenance of the roads, e-tolling may be put on hold for a much longer time.