FOLLOWING a meeting of the Organsation against Urban Tolling Alliance’s (Outa) legal teams with the Deputy Judge President recently in the North Gauteng High Court, the date of November 26 has been set down for the full review hearing of the e-tolling case to take place.
The South African National Roads Agency Limited’s (Sanral) plan to subject the citizens of SA to an elaborate and expensive e-tolling process to pay for the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP) in April 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 April 28, just days before its planned launch on April 30, pending a full review of the decision to toll these routes.
The merits of the organisation’s case is 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.
Despite the fact that the national treasury department is appealing the interdict in the Constitutional Court this week, should it be overturned, this may only allow the interdict to be set aside and for tolling to commence until such time as the review is heard. It is ultimately this review of Sanral’s plan to toll the GFIP which is the main matter which Outa requires to be heard in the High Court, following its successful temporary interdict.
Outa filed its supplementary affidavit (Part B of the application) in mid-July and now awaits the respondents answering affidavits to be served by September 17. Outa will produce its replying affidavit by October 1 in time for the heads of argument to be filed in the high court by October 22, giving the judge time to prepare for the hearing, which will commence on November 26.
Outa has stated that it still requires considerable funding for the court battle and urges citizens and businesses in SA to participate by contributing towards the legal costs of this case. After all, just think how much money the interdict has already saved both you and your company up until now.
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