JOHANNESBURG - A joint petition against the planned Gauteng highway tolling system will be sent to transport minister S'bu Ndebele within 14 days, the Gauteng legislature has said.
Spokesman Sithembele Tshwete said the organisations behind the petition included the Congress of Trade Unions, the National Civic Organisation, the National NGO Coalition, the Transport and Allied Workers' Union and the Democratic Alliance.
It's an unusual co-operation between long-standing political foes.
A public hearing in Johannesburg on November 11, 2011, heard several bodies and members of the public call for the toll system to be scrapped and the petition will be part of a campaign to resist the tolls dur to start in February, 2012.
DEVELOPMENT OF PUBLIC TRANSPORT
Tshwete said the Gauteng legislature would organise a meeting between the provincial transport department and the petitioners to discuss the development of public transport. It would also table a report on the previous week's hearing for debate in the legislature.
On Friday the Gauteng petition standing committee heard that the high cost of the tolls would increase the costs of doing business in the province. It also heard how the SA National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) continued to register motorists for electronic tolling tags while public hearings were still under way.
UNION THREATENS ACTION
Cosatu's Gauteng secretary Dumisani Dakile said during the hearing the tolls would affect workers the most. "Already some companies have indicated that, should the tolls be implemented, they will retrench employees."
Dakile said Cosatu was prepared to take to the streets to have its demands met.
Spokesman Sithembele Tshwete said the organisations behind the petition included the Congress of Trade Unions, the National Civic Organisation, the National NGO Coalition, the Transport and Allied Workers' Union and the Democratic Alliance.
It's an unusual co-operation between long-standing political foes.
A public hearing in Johannesburg on November 11, 2011, heard several bodies and members of the public call for the toll system to be scrapped and the petition will be part of a campaign to resist the tolls dur to start in February, 2012.
DEVELOPMENT OF PUBLIC TRANSPORT
Tshwete said the Gauteng legislature would organise a meeting between the provincial transport department and the petitioners to discuss the development of public transport. It would also table a report on the previous week's hearing for debate in the legislature.
On Friday the Gauteng petition standing committee heard that the high cost of the tolls would increase the costs of doing business in the province. It also heard how the SA National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) continued to register motorists for electronic tolling tags while public hearings were still under way.
UNION THREATENS ACTION
Cosatu's Gauteng secretary Dumisani Dakile said during the hearing the tolls would affect workers the most. "Already some companies have indicated that, should the tolls be implemented, they will retrench employees."
Dakile said Cosatu was prepared to take to the streets to have its demands met.