"All the evidence indicates that the revenues from the tolls are going to be enormous, and that the loans will be paid off quickly, leaving the private operator to milk the public," the memorandum reads.
Demanding the dismantling of the 42 toll gantries already straddling the N1, N3, N12, and R21, Cosatu said if more money was put into stopping fraud and corruption, government would easily have enough to fund road construction and maintenance.
According to the memorandum, to be delivered to government representatives in every province, the trade union federation is opposed to the tolls for the following reasons:
"This is not a free choice. It is because our public transport system is expensive, unsafe, and unreliable," the memorandum reads.
Besides the Bus Rapid Transit System put in place in Johannesburg and Cape Town, there had not been any new subsidised bus route in over 10 years, Cosatu said.
"We pay taxes so that government can build and maintain roads, hospitals, schools, etc.
"For all of the above reasons, we demand the dismantling of the Gauteng motorway gantries, and the immediate halting, for good, of the Gauteng open tolls."
Source: Sapa via I-Net Bridge
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