Johannesburg – The Democratic Alliance (DA) says it is disappointed that the scrapping of e-Tolls in Gauteng was not mentioned at the State of the Nation Address (SONA) last night.
“In light of his economic growth plans, he missed an opportunity to go the whole hog and free Gauteng’s economy all the way. Gauteng makes the largest contribution to our country’s economy and abolishing the burden of e-tolls could have benefitted the country as a whole.
“This is an indictment on the residents of our province who are unable to afford to pay for a system that was imposed on them without any due process being followed,” said the DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Roads and Transport, Fred Nel.
According to Nel, e-Tolls are taking a great toll on the province’s economy. He says many citizens and small business owners who cannot afford this fee. Nel explained that small businesses suffer when they have to make deliveries.
“It is clear that the decision on e-Tolls has once again been kicked down the road which is not surprising at all,” he said.
Nel further said the opposition party will continue to fight for the rights of the residents in Gauteng when a new system that is meant to uplift infrastructure is unfairly imposed on them.
“The time for using e-Tolls as a political football and voting fodder is over and we demand that the ANC-led government makes a firm decision on this system for once and for all,” he said.
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