Summonses to be issued in Gauteng for outstanding e-toll bills, warns Sanral

22nd March 2016

By: African News Agency

  

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Businesses in Gauteng and motorists who have boycotted payment of e-tolls can expect civil summonses from sheriffs of the court in the next few days, the South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) has warned.

Sanral said the decision to issue summonses came after an extensive period of communication with vehicle owners who neglected to pay.

“The summonses will also include higher value summonses of mostly companies. Due to the amount owed in these cases, the summons has to be managed by the High Court,” said Alex van Niekerk, project manager for the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP).

“Sanral has a responsibility towards the country and the thousands of compliant vehicle owners who regularly pay their e-toll accounts to recover the outstanding debt from defaulters. We have an obligation to act.”

Van Niekerk said civil summonses were not criminal proceedings, as it is similar to non-payment of any commercial accounts and therefore not a criminal case.

He added that ratings agencies and investors were looking towards Sanral and expected it to demonstrate commitment to financial responsibility and high standards of corporate governance.

Organisation Uniting against Tax Abuse (Outa), which opposes urban tolling, said on Tuesday the decision by Sanral to summon high value corporate defaulters was questionable.

“It would appear then that companies and people who may therefore be at risk of summons, are those who have signed Sanral’s e-toll contracts in the past and have now defaulted on these,” said OUTA.

“However, even in this situation, we know that many businesses would have initially signed these agreements under duress of Sanral’s initial threats of criminal prosecution and would have a strong chance to defend their rights of ceasing to pay for the unjust e-toll scheme.”

Sanral first sent out threats to summon defaulters two years ago, which were withdrawn after it realised there was no basis for criminalising e-toll defaulters whose cases could be easily defended, Outa said.

“A lot of time has since passed, with significant and additional aspects of defense that can and will be raised in a collateral challenge on the unlawfulness of the e-toll declarations.”

The organisation, previously known as the Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance which recently changed it’s name to the Outa, said it would defend its members if they are summoned to court for not paying oustanding e-toll bills.

In May last year, In a bid to encourage motorists to comply, Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that tariffs would be halved for most categories of vehicles.

The announcement did not damper public dissatisfaction with e-tolls. Opposition parties and organisations such as the Congress of South African Trade Union and Outa have vowed to continue boycotting e-tolls.

Sanral is owed approximately R5-billion in e-toll bills.

Edited by African News Agency

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