Roads agency Sanral is engaging with two advocates to begin prosecuting Gauteng road users who are not paying e-tolls, it was reported on Tuesday.
Eyewitness News said it had learnt that the two senior prosecutors have begun meeting with Sanral officials at the state-owned company’s headquarters in Midrand and that they would take on 40 “test cases”.
The news service quoted the National Prosecuting Authority’s Nathi Mncube as saying that two senior prosecutors had been assigned to deal with the nonpayment of e-tolls by motorists and that they would take the cases to court “as and when they feel ready”.
The Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance said it would help motorists fight their legal battles, provided it had the funding to do so.
The move to begin prosecuting offenders comes less than a week after Gauteng premier David Makhura announced a 15-person panel to assess the socioeconomic impact of e-tolls in the province.
The panel is set to meet for the first time this Thursday, 17 July, to determine the impact of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project. It is expected to present its final report and recommendations to the Gauteng provincial government by the end of November.
The e-tolls system came into operation on 3 December last year. This followed a number of court challenges attempting to stop implementation. — © 2014 NewsCentral Media