Johannesburg – Pursuing the current e-toll system will result in revolt, ANC Gauteng provincial secretary Hope Papo said on Tuesday.
The ANC in Gauteng on Tuesday refused to comment on whether there was any collusion in the e-tolling system.
Papo said the party could not make a public statement about the matter without having all the facts.
“It has to be investigated whether there was any collusion or not,” he told the Gauteng Advisory Panel on e-tolls at the provincial legislature.
The ANC’s Brian Hlongwe said keeping the tolling system as it was had the potential to cause unrest.
Gauteng premier David Makhura established the panel on July 17 to assess the social and economic impact of e-tolls.
The review panel is intended to examine the economic and social impact of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP) and the electronic tolling system set up to fund it.
The panel is expected to present its findings to Makhura at the end of November.
Earlier, Gauteng ANC chair Paul Mashatile said removing the e-toll gantries from Gauteng highways was not a solution.
READ: E-toll gantries must stay – Gauteng ANC
“We reject the reckless calls for the gantries to be removed and destroyed,” he said.
The technology brought in by the e-toll gantries was valuable and alternative uses should be found for them.
Mashatile led a large delegation to the hearings.
The ANC provided a few solutions to the largely rejected e-tolling system, including a national nominal increase in the fuel levy and an increase in vehicle licence fees to cover the debt incurred through the GFIP.
Papo said Gauteng contributed to the national growth and should therefore be seen as a national asset.
However, the money collected could be shared with other provinces.
“We aren’t opposed to the user-pay principle, but to the current model of the e-toll system,” said Mashatile.
He said they were open-minded regarding other alternatives.
The ANC suggested that greater emphasis and state resources should go towards improving public transport.