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MEC Carlisle slams Cape toll roads

CAPE TOWN - Western Cape transport MEC Robin Carlisle has slammed the proposed Winelands toll roads stating that “it was concocted by the ANC National government.”

He said the proposal was created by the ANC national department of transport whilst the ANC was in power in the Western Cape.
 
The ANC National Minister of Transport publicly wrote to the ANC Premier Ebrahim Rasool to ask if the Province objected to the toll road.

'OBJECTIONS WERE IGNORED'


According to Carlisle, “No objections were received from the ANC provincial government, and so the ANC National Minister instructed the SA National Roads Agency (an entity which reports to the Minister and whose board and CEO are appointed by him) to go ahead and toll the two busiest roads in the province.”

'OPEN TOLL ROAD'

The proposed concession route along the N1 extends from west of the R300 interchange through to Sandhills. The N2 portion of the proposed toll road concession extends from west of the R300 to Bot River. According to Sanral, 106km  of the N1 and 70km of the N2 would be tolled.

Sanral would consider an “open road toll” system as used in Gauteng, where remote sensing devices were positioned on gantries and on vehicles.

The project was authorised by the environmental affairs department and a record of decision was issued in September 2003.
 
Carlise says that voters were not consulted and objections were “ignored”.

He said: “At no time had the voters of the province asked for these toll roads, and at no time were they consulted until, far down the process, a limited public participation occurred. Every single submission received in that public participation was against tolling.

“The objections were replied to but otherwise ignored. The Winelands toll road was an ANC project from beginning to end. It was concocted by the ANC National government; approved by the ANC provincial government and is being implemented by an agency that reports to, and is financed by, the ANC government.”
 
Carlise said there has not been any objection to the toll road from members of the ANC and has questioned the “deafening silence” from ANC provincial leader Marius Fransman.

'REAL TEETH OF A FUNCTIONING DEMOCRACY'
 
The MEC has called on Western Cape voters to object to the implementation of toll roads: “When voters go to the polls in April 2014, the contract work on the toll road would not yet have begun, regardless of the outcome of the court challenges.
 
“Every vote for the ANC in the April 2014 election will be a vote for the toll road. Every vote against the ANC, regardless of for which party, will be a vote against the toll road.
 
I call on the voters of the Western Cape to show the ANC the real teeth of a functioning democracy.”

HEADED FOR COURT


The City of Cape Town said an interdict application to put the Winelands toll project on hold will be heard in May 2013 in the Western Cape High Court.

Brett Herron, the City of Cape Towns mayoral committee member for roads and transport, said: "The interdict application will be heard in the Western Cape High Court on May 16, when the city will seek an order to interdict Sanral (South African National Roads Agency) from taking any steps to implement the proposed N1-N2 Winelands toll highway project.

"Sanral refuses to provide a complete record of documents that are relevant to the toll road project, including how much the project will cost and what toll fees are likely to be levied.

"As a consequence of Sanral’s refusal to provide a complete record of documents, the city also brought an application to compel Sanral "to disclose them."

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