New Gauteng tolling tariffs

14 August 2011

South African Communist Party (SACP), Gauteng Province, has noted the latest cabinet pronouncement on the tolling tariffs for Gauteng roads made on the 11th August 2011.

Whilst we respect Cabinet`s decision to go ahead with the tolling system, we are still not convinced that there was a need to toll these roads in the first place.

We welcome the exemption of modes of public transport used predominantly by the working class and the poor, in particular taxis and buses.

As part of our strategic intervention and way forward on this matter, we will engage the Alliance partners in the forthcoming Provincial Alliance Economic and Public Sector Summit to be held in September 2011.

We will place before the Summit, the need to radically change and review the developmental trajectory followed in this province, which in class terms benefited the elite and tender-preneurs. We firmly believe that government must develop clear principles and broad criteria that should underpin any high value developmental and infrastructure projects.

In our view, this should be the main focus of our working class struggles moving forward. We also wish to reaffirm the historic programme of the SACP on the need for an integrated, safe, affordable, efficient and reliable public transport system. We firmly believe that public transport interventions in this province, such as the Gautrain do not come any closer to meeting the transport needs of the working and the poor.

We take this opportunity to call on the City of Johannesburg to resolve with immediate effect and in the most sustainable manner, the current crisis facing the Reavaya Bus Services. This again impact negatively on the working and the poor.

Issued by SACP Gauteng PEC

For further information, contact:

Acting Provincial Secretary Jacob Mamabolo on 082 884-1868

Provincial Spokesperson Pat Ntsobi on 072 671-4258