Pretoria - The Gauteng e-tolling project will go ahead,
Judge Louis Vorster ruled in the North Gauteng High Court on Thursday.
"In my view the application cannot succeed," Judge
Louis Vorster ruled.
He was handing down judgment in an application by the
Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance (Outa) to have the controversial e-tolling
project set aside.
Vorster said the crux of Outa's application, that there had
not been an efficient public participation process, was flawed.
The organisation had accused the SA National Roads Agency
Limited (Sanral) of deliberately keeping the public in the dark and being
dishonest about the process of implementing tolls in Gauteng.
During the application in November David Unterhalter SC,
for Sanral, said this claim was reckless and that Outa had to look at all the
facts of the case and affidavits submitted by Sanral, the transport department,
and Treasury.
Outa lawyer Mike Maritz argued e-tolling should be set aside
because proper public consultation never took place.
During the three days in court, Sanral, the transport
department and Treasury argued the application should be dismissed.
Unterhalter contended Outa changed its submissions in
September after the Constitutional Court overturned an interim order putting
the Gauteng e-tolling project on hold.
The Constitutional Court found the North Gauteng High Court
had not considered the separation of powers between the high court and the
executive.
On April 28, the high court granted the interdict to Outa, ruling
that a full review needed to be carried out before e-tolling could be
implemented. The interdict prevented Sanral from levying or collecting tolls
pending the review's outcome.
Outa chairperson Wayne Duvenhage and his team sat in the
first row of the public gallery on Thursday, as judgment was handed down.
Sanral CEO Nazir Alli and spokesperson Alex van Niekerk were
also in court, as was the Democratic Alliance's Jack Bloom.
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