An application by the Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance (Outa) for an interdict to stop the e-tolling of Gauteng’s major roads continues in the high court in Pretoria on Wednesday.
Outa, trade union federation Cosatu and the Democratic Alliance were pulling out all the stops this week to try and have the system scrapped.
Cosatu, which has a membership of 2m, plans countrywide mass protests. A protest was planned at Sanral’s offices on Wednesday, Cosatu spokesman Patrick Craven said.
“The marches will culminate next Monday [the day of the launch] and there will be big marches in all main city centres,” he said.
Vincent Maleka, lawyer for the transport minister and Gauteng transport MEC, told the court on Tuesday that Outa was not entitled to another postponement of the e-tolling system.
The scheme had already been postponed four times since April 2011.
“There must be an extraordinarily good reason to postpone the scheme again,” he said. — Sapa