If you have been avoiding payment of e-tolls on Gauteng roads, watch out. Soon you will face the might of the law.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has appointed prosecutors to work with the SA National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) to deal with non-payment of e-tolls NPA Spokesperson, Nathi Nncube informed Transform SA.
“Section 27(5)(a) makes it an offence to refuse or fail to pay the amount of toll that is due and is punishable on conviction with imprisonment or a fine,” Nncube stated.
In spite of widespread opposition from several organisations including its own very vocal alliance partner, COSATU, the government went ahead and implemented the e-toll system in December last year.
The latest step is widely regarded as Sanral’s desperate measure to coerce motorists into sustaining its investment. One of the organisations that has condemned the appointment of the NPA is the Justice Project SA (JPSA), whose chairperson Howard Dembovsky said in a statement: “”Sanral’s e-tolls marketing strategy has always involved a strong element of fear mongering by threatening people with criminal records and other life-changing consequences for resisting their unjust and unduly expensive system of e-tolling.”