JOHANNESBURG – In Vuyiswa Ramokgopa’s letter to Lesufi, Ramokgopa said the premier’s government had repeatedly failed the people of Gauteng.
“Twice in a row, you have fed residents lies in your State of the Province Address (SOPA) about your intention to scrap the onerous e-tolling system. Yet, year after year, Gauteng residents are stuck with the same expensive and unwanted system.
“Your government has mastered the art of creating false hope by presenting e-tolls as a solution to road infrastructure development while ignoring the undeniable decay of our roads. It has become clear that e-tolls only serve to line the pockets of the corrupt at the expense of hardworking Gauteng residents.
“The hypocrisy of your government knows no bounds,” Ramokgopa said in a scathing letter to Lesufi.
She said despite his empty promises, the National Treasury had repeatedly refuted claims that the Gauteng government had met the requirements for the scrapping of e-tolls.
Ramokgopa said the disturbing disconnect between provincial and national structures was indicative of a dishonest government.
“A government that knowingly lies to its people, just to win votes. Enough is enough. As residents of this province, we refuse to be deceived any longer.
“We demand transparency and accountability. You must be held accountable for your deceptive tactics. We call on you to release all correspondence between the Gauteng Provincial Government and the National Treasury regarding e-tolls. It is time for the truth to come out and for the people of Gauteng to see through the facade of your government.
Ramokgopa’s letter comes amid a decision by the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) to take the provincial government to court over the e-toll issue.
OUTA CEO Wayne Duvenage said they have been opposed to the e-tolls since September 2010 and reiterated their dissatisfaction on 3 December 2013.
Duvenage said OUTA’s main reasons for opposing the scheme were the lack of public engagement and the excessive administrative costs.
He further said many Gauteng motorists were led to believe that the improvements to Gauteng’s highways were budgeted for as part of the infrastructure improvement costs associated with hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
“OUTA believes that the highway upgrades were supposed to cost between R6 billion and R7 billion, but ended up costing taxpayers R17.9 billion, largely due to gross mismanagement and corruption. SANRAL and the government have their own lack of transparency and public engagement to blame for the lack of support for e-tolling,” says Duvenage.
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