SANRAL's plan to subject users to an elaborate and expensive e-tolling process to pay for the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP) was met with fierce opposition by the public. OUTA, an alliance of business and public participants was successful in halting the launch of e-tolling in Gauteng on 28 April 2012, just days before its planned launch on 30 April, pending a full review of the decision to toll these routes.
The merits of the case are structured around the unreasonableness of the high costs involved, along with the irrationality of the plan combined with a number of legislative and procedural transgressions by SANRAL and the government departments of Transport and Environmental Affairs.
The Treasury is appealing the interdict in the Constitutional Court on 15 August 2012. Should the Court find in favour of SANRAL, this would allow the interdict to be set aside and for tolling to commence, until the review is heard in November. It is ultimately this review of SANRAL's plan to toll the GFIP, which is the main matter that OUTA requires to be heard in the High Court, following its successful temporary interdict.
OUTA has filed its supplementary affidavit (Part B of the application) in mid-July and now awaits the respondents' answering affidavits to be served by 17 September. Thereafter OUTA will produce its replying affidavit by 1 October, in time for the heads of argument to be filed in the High Court by 22 October, giving the judge time to prepare for the November hearing.
OUTA still requires considerable funding for the court battle and urges citizens and businesses in South Africa to participate by contributing toward the legal costs of this case. Details of the case and funding methods are available on the website www.outa.co.za.
