It is not illegal not to have an e-tag

With Jacob Zuma signing the e-toll bill last week, many are now under the impression that it is now law to get an e-tag for the Gauteng roads affected by the tolls. Added to this comment from both SANRAL and government has recently been along the lines that citizens will buy into the toll road project because South Africans are “law-abiding” citizens, the implied message being that it is law to get an e-tag. You know the old saying bs baffles brains! WE DO NOT HAVE TO GET AN E-TAG, IT IS NOT LAW! Of course us naughty people who don’t get e-tags will be punished in a number of ways, we will pay a higher rate at the tolls and we will not qualify for discounts. I am yet to read a summary in non legalspeak regarding what this bill does entail, it seems very odd to go to all the schlep and expense of getting this far without the project being signed off by the president at an earlier point.

When talk of the tolls first came to my attention I clearly remember a SANRAL representative saying that those without e-tags would be invoiced. I have now read that the new bill includes a clause that we do not have to be invoiced and that legal action can be commenced without an invoice being received. My understanding is that the onus will be on the driver to find out how much they owe and to pay on time. The logistics around this sound nightmarish to me. Anyone please correct me if I’m wrong here, I’m not a legal person. I really would appreciate knowing point by point steps with regard to how money will be collected from non e-tag drivers and exactly how correct procedures can be followed.

I am firmly against the e-toll project, I don’t have a problem with paying toward the upgrade of the roads but I have a big problem with the whole system. There can be little doubt that some pockets got very nicely lined along the way. I have a problem with the fact that a huge chunk of money collected will go to a business outside South Africa, I have a problem with the way we have been bulldozed by SANRAL and government. I am a law-abiding citizen and I will pay what I owe when using the roads but I will NOT get an e-tag. The statement by the Catholic church summaries the failings of the project more eloquently than I can express.

I am very grateful for all that Wayne Duvenage and OUTA have done in trying to stop the project. I applaud the actions which they have taken and the cost which they have gone through to fight for all of us in Gauteng. This is a matter of principle and it is time that South Africans stood together more often when government abuses us and show us the middle finger. I guess that one good thing is that citizens have stood together on this one.

14/10/13 Update extract from article on IOL

“Motorists would receive fines by registered mail that could lead to a court summons.

According to the Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance’s court documents, this could be about 2.1 million summonses.

Vusi Mona, Sanral spokesman, said motorists who did not pay their toll fees would be charged under the Sanral Act.

If the first debt collection process fails, a final notice will be sent and the matter will be handed over to the prosecuting authority.

It would be done electronically, he said. -Sapa