Friday is D-day for e-tolling implementation plan

"The committee will make an announcement on Friday, on how the e-tolls will be implemented," spokesman Thabo Masebe said on Wednesday.

"The committee has been meeting with various stakeholders since last week and we are concluding discussions this week."

Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe chairs the IMC.

Masebe added it was possible to have a solution that satisfied everyone as the government and relevant parties were much closer after the consultations than they were earlier this year. There was general agreement on the "user-pays" principle, Masebe said.

"It was agreed that the e-toll system could be used to solve problems of congestion on the highways and to raise funds for improvement."

Religious leaders from the SA Council of Churches, the National Interfaith Council of SA and the National Religious Association for Social Development met the IMC on Tuesday.

The religious leaders said they were satisfied that the committee had taken their concerns into consideration.

Two weeks ago, the Constitutional Court ruled that an interim order granted by the High Court in Pretoria in April, which put the GFIP on hold, be set aside. It concluded that the high court had not considered the separation of powers between it and the executive.

Other parties had expressed their opposition to the e-tolling system. In response to the Constitutional Court ruling, Congress of South African Trade Unions general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi said: "We are going to resist it with every power we have."

Source: Sapa via I-NET Bridge