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The Democratic Alliance said it will appeal the judgment handed down by the Western Cape High Court on Thursday in the party’s case against what it calls the unconstitutional passing of the E-Tolling Act.
The DA has argued that the people of Gauteng were denied a voice against e-tolling, because the law was not debated in the provincial legislature.
Peters believes the judgment is a further vindication of government’s long held position about the introduction and implementation of the electronic tolling system on at least 201km of some parts of highways in Gauteng.
“It must be noted by all that we have been to various courts on this matter of e-tolling wherein various aspects of the process were queried," said Peters.
"In all these processes the judiciary found that there was nothing untoward or illegal about the processes followed by government and/or its agencies.”
The minister called on all parties concerned to respect the independence of the judicial system by not continuing to question processes even after courts have pronounced on them.
Peters said the people of Gauteng and other visitors to the province should be given an opportunity to appreciate the convenience brought by the upgrading of the road network in question.
She said SA’s needs for infrastructure cannot be turned into a political game where political parties hijack genuine challenges for narrow, selfish interests.
With a road infrastructure backlog of about R150bn, Peters said the nation needs to rally behind government’s programmes to ensure that it comes up with lasting solutions that would ensure better services for all.
“Misinformation campaigns and other means have been exhausted in trying to dissuade citizens from complying with the law.... and contribute towards the building of a better country," said Peters.
"Despite all these attempts, we have seen more and more people registering for e-tolling. We wish to thank those who have registered for their cooperation. We urge those who still remain unregistered to do so in order for them to enjoy the discounts associated with e-toll registration.”
She once again requested those affected by billing challenges experienced by the service provider responsible for managing the system to come forward and lodge their complaints with Sanral.
