The Opposition To Urban Tolling Alliance (Outa) has called on Parliament to reject the South African National Road Agency Limited’s (Sanral’s) bid to have motorists’ vehicle licence renewals withheld for outstanding e-toll bills, saying the move would lead to South Africa becoming the “first country in the world” to criminalise its citizens for their “objections” to State conduct.

After Sanral’s request last week to the Parliamentary portfolio committee to sanction proposed regulations for the withholding of vehicle licences, Outa stood firm in its belief that the troubled roads agency was attempting to bully motorists into compliance.

“It is clearly part of their coercive strategy to get motorists to start paying e-tolls or face the possibility of criminal prosecution for driving without a vehicle licence,” Outa chairperson Wayne Duvenage said in a statement on Monday.

The group maintained that the implementation of an e-toll system for Gauteng’s freeways was an unlawful and irrational decision.

"It is Outa's opinion that if Sanral is able to convince Parliament to approve their regulatory changes, this could lead South Africa to become the first country in the world to attempt to criminalise over one-million of its own citizens for their conscientious objections to the unlawful and irrational conduct of an organ of State,” he explained.

Duvenage also questioned the accounting practices of Sanral in that only 38%, or R3.8-billion, of the R9.95-billion that it had invoiced motorists for the year to March 2015 had met the accounting standards as declarable revenue.

Sanral had only been able to collect R1.1-billion of the invoiced e-tolls during the period under review, with the R2.7-billion shortfall unlikely to be recouped and most likely having to be written off, Duvenage added.

The remaining R6.1-billion in unpaid toll fees comprised e-toll revenues charged at the higher “alternative tariffs”.

“While Sanral has not declared the R6.1-billion difference, they have retained this as outstanding debt which they intend to use as an official write-off during their forthcoming coercive dispensation discount and threat of prosecution tactics,” he said, expressing his “amazement” that the Auditor-General allowed Sanral to reflect the outstanding revenue as declarable and achievable.

“No accounting firm worth their salt will allow a business to reflect 71% of outstanding revenue, a lot of which is over a year old, as being achievable,” he concluded.