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More toll roads on the cards

Johannesburg - More toll roads have been proposed by the SA National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) at a closed meeting, the DA said on Sunday.

"At a [parliamentary] portfolio committee of transport strategic planning session last week, the CEO of Sanral, Nazir Alli, revealed new toll roads that the entity is considering for implementation," Democratic Alliance MP Ian Ollis said in a statement.

"These new toll roads are in addition to the N1-N2 Winelands toll road in the Western Cape, the N2 Wild Coast toll road in the Eastern Cape and e-tolls in Gauteng.

Ollis said the proposed new tolls roads were the N3 Durban to Pietermaritzburg, N12 Kimberley to Johannesburg, N1 Ring road at Musina, N1 Kroonstad to Winburg, and N1 Botlokwa Interchange.

Ollis said the committee meeting was closed to the media.

"We didn't know about this until the meeting... and this is a concern," he said.

Ollis said the toll roads would hit the poorest South Africans the hardest.

"It will increase the price of doing business, result in food price increases and will inevitably undermine economic growth and job creation," he said.

"It is imperative that before any road is declared a toll road, the impact of the proposed route is considered by the public, as well as local and provincial government."

Sanral could not immediately be reached for comment.

Sanral announced earlier this month that e-tolling would be implemented in Gauteng within the next two months, subject to its adoption by the National Council of Provinces.

In April last year, the High Court in Pretoria granted the Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance (Outa) an interdict approving a full judicial review before electronic tolling could be put into effect.

The interdict prevented Sanral from levying or collecting e-tolls pending the outcome of a review. Sanral and the National Treasury appealed the court order.

In September, the Constitutional Court set aside the interim order. In December the High Court in Pretoria dismissed Outa's application to scrap e-tolling.

On January 25, the court granted Outa leave to take the matter to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in Bloemfontein. The SCA hearing will take place in September.

In the Western Cape, Sanral plans to appoint a concessionaire on a build, operate, and transfer basis to finance and maintain the N1-N2 Winelands toll project.

The City of Cape Town has taken legal steps to stop the project. On May 16, the Western Cape High Court will hear the city's application to stop Sanral from taking further steps to implement the project.


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