Outa stands its ground in Panel discussions
Outa has expressed their appreciation for being heard by the Gauteng E-Toll Advisory Panel nn September 2.
“We believe this panel is equipped with the sincerity, the desire and intellectual capacity to grasp the underlying points of our position on the E-toll matter,” says Outa spokesperson, John Clarke.
He adds that Sanral and the governing authorities neglected to heed the warnings and concerns raised by various sectors of society, and then proceeded to forge ahead with a system on the basis that ‘if the law was in place and the technology was sound, it ought to work’.
“What they failed to take into account was, for law and the scheme to be effective, it needs to be reasonable and have undergone the scrutiny of the people.
“Without ‘user say’, the ‘user pay’ principle is flawed and gives users strong grounds for defiance, which has now become evident is the E-toll debacle,” says Clarke.
Wayne Duvenage, Outa chairperson, says that they are not surprised that E-tolling has failed, as a result of Sanral’s inability to get the people to support the system, due to the irrationality, the lack of transparency and Sanral’s dismal public engagement programme.
“They have also attempted to introduce a scheme that is far too complex and filled with too many challenges to be efficiently applied into this environment,” says Duvenage.
He adds that they state in their document that Sanral’s scheme fails on almost all the factors it required for success.
This academic backed research also shows where and why electronic tolling systems work, listing the aspects and reasons for their successes, virtually all of which were glaringly missing in Sanral’s E-toll scheme.
“We maintain that the E-toll declaration was made unlawfully and unless the system can be effectively enforced, the high levels of defiance can never be managed. This in turn undermines the legitimacy of the state.
“We have proposed a few alternatives, which have zero administrative costs and 100 per cent compliance, something the E-toll scheme will never achieve.
“The authorities would be wise to halt this failed scheme sooner rather than later, lest we continue to waste society’s funds and prepare ourselves for more unintended consequences that may emanate, if they continue to force this unjust system into place”. – @CarmenBoksburg
