Last year, Wonkie published an article about how the high toll fees in Gauteng will entrench the legacy of apartheid. Now, it appears the day of reckoning is soon approaching as the controversial toll system officially goes live at midnight on 30 April 2012.
Wonkie had outlined 3 basic options available to the South African public:
- Start a revolution based on mass action;
- Refuse to pay high toll fees and let the government try to take legal action against everybody;
- Suck it up, pay the high toll fees and continue whingeing about it for the next decade.
Since Gandhi is dead and Julius is very busy, there just isn’t a strong enough leader to galvanise the masses to pull off options 1 and 2. If COSATU proves as impotent in addressing the toll issue as they have been in their political alliance thus far, Wonkie is bracing itself for a decade of serious whingeing.
Hence, this article. Wonkie thought it fitting to highlight the lighter side of e-tolls – something no publication has done in South Africa as yet.
According to SANRAL, some 300,000 morons have already signed up for e-tolls. But are they really morons – or are they just sneaky devils that have realised the future benefits of the high Gauteng toll fees?
A quick survey revealed 10 reasons to be Happy about Gauteng Toll Fees:
- You now have an excellent new excuse not to visit your mother-in-law over the weekends;
- For the small toll fee, the government, and possibly suspicious spouses, will now also have an accurate record of exactly which toll gate your car travelled through and when – so helpful if ever you get Alzheimer’s;
- COSATU will earn millions from Pfizer when they are asked to front their next Viagra marketing campaign – this money can in turn be used to create jobs (within COSATU);
- The DA will have one more thing to happily object to for the next 10 years and make no headway on;
- One day in the future when you’re paying R10 a kilometre in tolls fees you’ll reflect warmly on how cheap the currently proposed 30c per kilometre really was;
- You can now set up that company you’ve always wanted to in Swaziland, win one of those dodgy tenders to service the toll roads and make your millions;
- Employees now have a stronger case for “working” from home for a few days a week – woohoo!
- You can rest assured that your hard-earned toll fees will not be used fund President Zuma’s upcoming nuptials. Well… at least not his fourth one next weekend;
- The chances of meeting the girl or guy of your dreams will be increased tremendously because you’ll be out and about, waiting in line to pay for your monthly etag top-up or querying why you’ve been overcharged by 400%;
- And finally, even the South African masses cannot possibly be so stupid as to vote in the current bunch of idiots again after this… wouldn’t that be something to smile about!
So there you go – the toll fees are not all bad you see. In the spirit of keeping the vibe positive, please add any other reasons why you feel the introduction of toll fees will be beneficial to yourself or others in the comments section below.
If you’ve just about had it with all these uncontrollable expenses and are kicking yourself for not winning the multi-billion rand in US lottery last month, have no fear. There are a couple more big international lotteries this month to try out: go now and play lottery online on this great website in India here or visit Wonkie’s own play US lottery from South Africa page. If you’re up for more excitement, be sure to check out the daily updated offers on the best online casinos in South Africa directory. If you’re based in India, you may want to try this India Online Casino site. For none of these exciting options, check out Wonkie’s recommendations for more.
Loading...
.
After the tax man gets you and you have paid all your other monthly bills, the toll fees will make sure you have nothing left to steal. So they are acting like a security force for you, since you will have to sell everything you own to pay them AND eat every month!
Etolls are necessary to maintain our poliotician’s extravagant lifestyles. Without them there will be no glamour among the ruling elite.
As a single mom who gets monthly mantainance from the father, I stand a good chance of getting more money as I travel on the road on daily basis taking my little one to and from school within a 46km radius.
Even if it is only hitting Gauteng for now, we in the Cape are next. The ANC is ripping off the entire nation. It is criminal the way they are stealing from everybody! What is next? An air that we breathe tax?
Highway robbery was never better defined!
LOL… nice one Wonkie. Here’s another good reason:
South Africa will meet their COP17 emmissions quota now because it’s now too expensive for anybody to drive anywhere here!
@GatvolinSA – you have money left to eat ?????
happy because it will bring back the bicycle riders like in Holland there is no toll on cyclists.
HIGHWAY ROBBERY it is! “Hands up” “Your money or your life” We used to hang highwaymen in the old days!
10. And finally, even the South African masses cannot possibly be so stupid as to vote in the current bunch of idiots again after this… wouldn’t that be something to smile about! ????????????????
The masses will always vote in the ANC…………..stupid or not…………tradition as much as Zimbabwe votes Zanu PF……………..again and again………..
We need a revolution, that is what we need !!!
“tradition as much as Zimbabwe votes Zanu PF……………..again and again”
This is not strictly speaking true – Mad Bob gets the Electoral commission fellows to help a bit as well.
The toll is just another tax however it entrenches the legacy of apartheid. Probably the worst part of apartheid were the hostels and the townships. The townships are distant from most workplaces this puts additional burden on the poor and will no doubt encourage workers to move intro hostels. As a tax it is showing its unpopularity, if a tax is seen to be unfair or too high people will rebel against it> In mediaeval Britain o poll tax was introduced the people found who was responsible and cut off their heads. The British failed to learn because they introduced poll taxes in many of their colonies, sparking the the first independence protests and in some places the first political parties among indigenous populations. In India they introduced a salt tax inthe 1930’s that caused amassive protest and a drive towards independence. The most classic was a tax on tea in America that lead to the Boston Tea Party and the declaration of Independence and the creation of the USA. The Toll Taxes, because that’s what they are, are already creating a commotion that will lead to their scrapping or the downfall of a Government. ( for now the Government of Gauteng). Those who forget the lessons of history are forced to repeat them. Now is the tome to get rid of a Government that does not seem to care for the people never mind its own electorate.
In Durban we have a tool road at Marianhill Plaza. It has been there many years. It was put on the new N3, the old N3 is now the M13. The problem has arisen where the tolls have now gone up and many motorists use the M13 which in the mornings is an agony of traffic jams. Durban municipality have no place to build an alternate road and no fund to do so. But the problem would be solved by pulling down the toll plaza. There are unintended consequences to a toll road and these will be felt in Gauteng sooner rather than later. An increase in the fuel levy would be a better alternative. (or start spending the current levy on roads which was the original intention until the Old Regime spent it on a war).
A few years ago I carried out an excercise and calculated that the average working person was paying 57 cents in the Rand in direct and indirect taxes. A firm of auditors did the same excercise and arrived at 59 cents. Let’s call it 60 cents in the Rand in today’s circumstances.
A recent announcement claimed that bribery and corruption is costing us 20 cents in the Rand. So, add that to the 60 cents, we are paying 80 cents in the rand in direct taxes, indirect taxes and corruption.
Mr. Average Earner, are you happy with taking home 20 cents of each hard eraned Rand you earn? This governement has to be shown the door, and soon!
Our illustrious Government is once again telling us what to do. The new bill that will stop alcohol advertising and sponsorship has not considered what it will do and what it will not do. Firstly it will not stop drunken driving or drunken behaviour that can only be curtailed by diligent policing, without significant sponsorship our major sports will decline to the point where we become nothing in the world. Secondly, what it will do is reduce employment at a time when we need to do everything to create jobs. It all boils down to a Government that does not know what its doing.
Howzat Wonkie
This is the tragedy- the “people” will burn tyres, loot, plunder and detroy other innocent peoples’ property BUT THYE WILL EN MASSE VOTE THE SAME SCOUNDRELS IN AGAIN!
Hennie, this is the unfortunate position of South Africa, under apartheid the Government could do what it liked and the electorate (small as it was) still voted for it. Nothing has changed the current electorate will always vote for the ANC only because they remain uneducated and largely illiterate. One wonders if this is the reason for the failure of education policies and why they do not want to (or cannot) solve poverty. While they keep the majority poor and uneducated they will stay in power.
Hi Wonkie, really enjoyed your article. Sorry for the Guys that have extra marital affairs.(Hoo Boy)!! Anyway, I have suggested “MASS CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE” since the beginning of this debacle on Wonkie and Times Live. This circuit of Criminals we have, does not have the infrastructure to handle or eat the cake they baked. (Civil Disobedience is the baby of Mother ANC.) ANC EAT the cake you baked. Not enough courts, not enough personal, not enough court buildings and surely not enough prisons to accommodate two thirds of South Africans and don’t forget the millions of Rho.. i mean Zimbabweans and the rest of Africa`s illegal citizens sponging here in South Africa. And there is no law in the statute books that make provision forcing people to pay hard earned money to an AUSTRIAN Company and the few fat cat Gov.Officials that have been given free shares in this day lite Robbery scheme. DARK AFRICA with the sense of a 5 year old. “Dont you a Worry” Starvation and Aids will SMILE like now in ZIM.
SANRAL won’t let anybody see the actual costs of fixing up the roads before declaring them to be toll roads. Knowing the amount of corruption and graft that accompanies every tender we have no idea what the costs would have been if the tenders had been awarded to genuine civil engineering firms rather than the tenderpreneurs who then contracted civil engineers to do the job.
We all know that without BEE status it is impossible to receive a tender from any state, provincial or municipal authority other than in the Western Cape. BEE status is a licence to rip off the State and provided you grease the right palms the highest, most incompetent bidder usually gets awarded the tender.
Damn you Tarava!
You have very likely put an idea into the mush that ANC politicians call brains and very likely someone will investigate the feasibility of your unintentional recommendation.
Hi Tony my comments re the hanging was not unintentional. Damn you too!
Some good reason not to give my friends lift by living the car at home and state the reason of avoiding to pay the e-toll.
Less of going out Shopping and hence more savings which savings shall compensate the additional burden of toll fees.
Sorry Tarava.
I was talking about your first post saying that they might tax us on the air we breathe. I believe that hanging might be a solution to our problems. Fist to go should be Nazi Rali.
We all know that highway robbers get suspended on full pay for life. Has anybody ever been found guilty and had to repay their ill-gotten gains from their criminality?
Always, but always, once a posting is made blaming the apartheid action for where we are today, then you must know the anc is down and out and have no where to go, so they revive the hate apartheid for for all our problems and zuma and his cohorts can carry on padding their nests and laughing all the way to the bank at the expense of the poor. I believe the toll fees will increase next week to cover the cost of the wedding.
Furthermore are there any stupid enough to think that zuma will pay for his own wedding????.
Giving taxi drivers better reasons to increase the fare than blaming the association each time,and a motive to driver on the yellow line because they pay for the whole road and lanes.
Giving Zuma and extra million for his next marriage because the tax is not doing good,And for Cyril and ANC to have enough money for their advocates against the ANCYL
Pure bullshit!!!! When does the kak stop…Jeez….Come on get real!!!
A further advantage is that no longer will the blue light brigade scream past slow moving vehicles in the emergency lane, as only government vehicles and taxis can afford the tolls they will have the lanes to themself. Much safer that way. Taxpayers take the slow back roads and tax consumers take the freeways
Any one who voted ANC has no right to complain. I bet most of those who have got E tags have some one else paying for their travel expenses-like government employees which we tax payers will have to pay. Thats tax on tax on tax on tax…………..
Hi Tony apology accepted.. I could’nt figure out why!
Ihope the blockade of toll roads by truck driver on the 25th off this month is going to take off why cant all off us unhappy road users join in and show sanral we can hold them at ransom like the taxis did it worked for them
For those who have forgotten what we were taught at school, a Collective Noun is a word used to describe a group of things or people. Example: A FLEET of ships, or Zuma has a harem of wives. So what is the collective noun for a group of idiots? Answer: Parliament. Example: South Africa has a Parliament of Idiots.
Hi Garth. Most of the education and hospital woes are a direct result of BEE and AA. In a civilized word people start at the bottom and work their way up. On the way up hopefully they learn what is acceptable and what is not. When you start at the top you make your own rules.These guys all want to start at the top. They end up being so rotten that they know nothing else. They hav’nt noticed that babies crawl first. Aluta continua! (looting continues)
The unintended consequences of having toll roads is;
1. Suburban and back roads become congested, over trafficked, used by heavy vehicles, potholed.
2. People in Soweto will have an extra burden placed on them.
3. Property prices in distant suburbs will go down.
4. People who buy e-tags will have their bank or credit cards fleeced.
5. Someone or Some people will be so angry they will commit violence or mayhem.
6. Given that it has so much opposition it will never make a profit and will have to call on the government for a bail out (more taxes)
Those against tolling and the e-tags read this from
Botha Attorneys
Attorneys at Law/Prokureurs
Specializing in Corporate Debt Recovery
56A Shortmarket Street, Newlands, Johannesburg, 2092. P.O. Box/Posbus 508, Newtown, 2113
Tel: 087 830 2255 Fax/Faks:011 477 0615
DX 281, JHB
E-mail: deon@bothaattorneys.co.za
Deon Botha (B.Jur LLB)
Our Ref: D. Botha/jb/
Ons Verw
Your Ref:
U Verw:
11th April 2012
E-TOLLING – GENERAL COMMENTS
This communication is not a legal opinion in any way whatsoever and only forwarded to yourselves for comment and for further discussion.
As you are all aware, motorist in Gauteng will be paying “toll fees” for the use of the new upgraded Gauteng freeways, to fund the Gauteng freeway development project.
Instead of motorist being billed monthly and receiving a statement for the usage of the E-Toll roads and which usage is linked to your motor vehicle license plate number (VLN), Sanral is currently pushing and encouraging motorist to rather purchase an E-Tag and to register as an E-Tag user, or to register as a VLN user.
In return for purchasing and registering as a E-Tag user / VLN user they promise that motorists may then qualify and be entitled to discounts, be categorized as either a E-Tag user or a registered VLN user to be entitled to discounted tolls. Should you elect not to register with Sanral, you will however not be entitled to any discounts or lower tariffs.
At first glace and when comparing the normal toll rates, to that of the discounted toll rates when you elect to register, the normal and reasonable uninformed motorist would be guided only by the discounts when signing up for registration.
?
After perusal of Sanral Terms & Conditions however, and which must be signed prior to registration, you will immediately note that the advantages of registering as an E-Toll user is very limited and comes with various onerous and one sided terms and obligations favoring only Sanral. Many clauses in their terms and conditions are being viewed by ourselves as well as other institutions as being either unlawful or in contravention of the Consumer Protection Act.
DISADVANTAGES FOR MOTORISTS WHO ELECT TO REGISTER AS AN E-TAG OR VLN USER
1. The discounts promised, and categorization as a registered E Tag user will not apply to all toll roads.
2. The onus is placed on the registered E-Toll user to establish their user categorization and/or the tolls applicable to a specific E-Toll road. The motorist can obtain the information from Sanral website.
3. A motorist who registers and thereafter fails to comply with any of Sanral’s prescribed terms and conditions, will be deemed to be an E-Road violator and their account can be referred to a collection agency called “Violations Processing Centre” which is a division of Sanral itself. (See paragraph 2 of Sanral terms & conditions).
4. Motorist who register will be billed and will be liable for toll transactions recorded according to the user VLN or E-Tag.
5. Motorist who register agree and understand that their liability to incur toll when the motor vehicle passes a tolling point and that the amount of toll is calculated with reference to the tolling point and not with reference to the KM traveled before the user reaches the tolling point.
6. Motorist who register are given 3 payment options for topping up their E Toll accounts namely, Pre-Paid Accounts, Manual Top Up Payments, Automatic Top Up Payments, all associated with the risk taking into account that you are contracting with a wholly owned State Company where corruption is at the order of the day.
7. Motorists who register further agrees and undertakes to ensure at all times that there is sufficient funds in the E-Toll account and should you fail to make sufficient payments into your E-Toll account will give Sanral the right to hand over your account to VPC for collection purposes.
8. Motorists who register and who elect to link their E-Toll account to a credit card bank account, debit card further authorizes Sanral to:
a. debit the motorists account to fund the E-Toll account for Toll fees incurred when raised;
b. undertakes to ensure that sufficient funds are available in the account;
c. places the duty on the motorist to notify Sanral of bank account detail changes.
9. A registered motorist undertakes and agrees to settle all E-Toll transactions within any period required by Sanral.
10. Should the registered motorist fail to make payments when required to do so, Sanral will have the right without notice to the motorists to suspend the motorist account, to red list the E-Tag and to hand the account over for collection to VPC.
11. The registered motorist further agrees that failure to make payment in respect of an E-Toll transaction in terms of the terms & conditions may result in criminal proceedings against themselves.
12. By registering the motorist agrees and understands that a statement of charges will be available on the E-Toll website for download and that should hardcopies be requested, that Sanral will have the right to charge for furnishing such copies.
13. Registered motorists agree that any payment made to Sanral will be utilized against the oldest charge to the most recent.
14. Registered motorist E-Toll account will be suspended if not used for a period of 12 months and will have to be reactivated. (at a charge).
15. Registered motorist agrees further that Sanral will not be held responsible for any loss or damage a motorist may suffer as a result of incorrect banking details being provided by the user and captured by Sanral except for instances where Sanral or its agent acted with gross negligence.
16. Registered motorists agree to be liable for additional fees and attorney charges which may be incurred by Sanral in the collection of outstanding E-Toll amounts.
17. Registered motorists further consent to the onerous provision that it will be deemed that the fees charged by Sanral are correct and the onus is placed on the motorist to prove that such charges are incorrect.
18. Registered motorists will not be provided with a receipt when they proceed through the tolling point. A tax invoice may however be requested but then at the expense of the motorist.
19. By registering for an E Tag account the onus is placed on the motorist to change the motor vehicle details linked to the E Toll account when you lose possession of the vehicle or where ownership in respect of the vehicle is transferred to a third party. Failure to do so will mean that the motorist will remain liable for any E-Toll charges incurred.
20. By registering the motorist acknowledges and accepts that by purchasing an E Tag and registering same does not in itself necessary result in a valid passage on an E Toll Road and that you may be prevented by Sanral to continue driving on the E Road.
21. By registering, the motorist agrees and accepts that Sanral will be entitled and without notice to the motorist to suspend an E Toll account and to Red List an E Tag, for failure of any of Sanral terms & conditions. Should the motorist later prove that there was no transgression of Sanral terms & conditions, they will have no claim against Sanral as in terms of the agreement such claims are waived by the motorist in favor of Sanral.
22. Whilst ownership in the E Tag and E Tag holder remains the property of Sanral the risk of loss, theft or damage passes to you upon delivery.
23. By registering, the motorist irrevocably authorizes Sanral or its duly authorized agents to obtain from any institutions where they may have an account or any credit bureau any information concerning themselves.
24. By registering the motorist further acknowledge and accepts that Sanral may unilaterally update and amend their terms & conditions and that the motorist has consented to such amendments and has agreed to abide by such amended terms & conditions.
25. By registering for an E Tag, the motorist is affording Sanral a blanket indemnity for any wrong doing, loss or damage that the motorist may have suffered by using the E road.
26. A registered motorist further agrees to an unlawful provision in consenting to the jurisdiction of the Magistrate’s Court of Pretoria in respect of all matters arising out of the terms & conditions.
?
A copy of Sanral terms and conditions is attached hereto for your ease of reference.
ADVANTAGES FOR MOTORIST WHO ELECTS NOT TO REGISTER AND RATHER PAY THE NORMAL TOLL RATE TARIFFS
1. Motorist will be billed for the use of the E Toll, without automatically being liable for such use, in the event of receiving incorrect readings from Sanral, theft, cloning of number plates, or the cloning of a motorist personal information etc
2. The onus will be on Sanral to prove that it was the motorist’s vehicle that traveled the recorded distances.
3. Payments will be made and effected by the motorist into a Sanral bank account.
4. Sanral’s collection division (VPC) will have no jurisdiction over non registered motorists.
5. Motorists will be entitled to monthly statements without any charge.
6. Motorists would be entitled to dictate how payments be allocated in respect of Toll road usage.
7. Motorists who do not register would not automatically be liable for additional fees or attorney charges.
8. The onus remains on Sanral to prove that the fees charged and for which the motorist is debited are correct.
9. Until an exemption notice is published motorist will be entitled to a receipt when paying for E Toll road usage.
10. In the event of a dispute with Sanral regarding outstanding charges, Sanral will not have the right to prevent the non registered motorist from continued use of the E Toll road.
11. Losses suffered by non registered motorist can be recovered by way of civil action.
12. Sanral will not have the right to have access to any private information of a non registered motorist.
13. Sanral will not have the right to amend any terms & conditions without the motorist agreeing to such amendments.
14. In the event of litigation, Sanral will have to issue a civil Summons or proceed criminally against the motorist in terms of the Criminal Procedure Act and will be forced to litigate against the motorist in a Magistrate’s Court who has jurisdiction over that motorist. (It is unlawful to consent to the jurisdiction of a specific Magistrate’s Court).
The above comment is made and must be read in conjunction with various sections of the National Credit Act, and the Consumer Protection Act. Should you have any further queries please do not hesitate to contact writer hereof.
Yours faithfully
Deon Botha
Ouch!!
I have read all the comments and I do not see one praising the ANC for allowing this to happen.
E-tolling is absurd-tension is brewing between the government and its citizens over the implementation of the controversial e-tolling in Gauteng. From my point of view this showdown is unnecessary and should be avoided at all costs, for it has a potential to plunge the country into a lot of uncertainty, chaos and lawlessness.
In any case, suppose the government continues to turn a blind eye to the suffering of its citizens and digs in its heels on the e-toll system, and the people on the other hand embark on endless mass actions and other forms of civil disobedience, what then will government do? Declare a state of emergency and deploy the army on the highways?
We need an inquiry into e-toll system. Will it be considered insensitive and unpatriotic to ask who the principal beneficiaries of e-tolls are? Since e-tolling has caused so much public indignation, would it not be wise for JZ to appoint a commission of inquiry into its origin?
How and to whom were the contracts awarded before it turned out to be another embarrassing scandal? The commission of inquiry will shed light on how we ended up with this problem and its entire network of beneficiaries. Hopefully, we will then know how government intends paying off the borrowed billions of rands.
Something is very wrong with SANRAL. Think about the dirty tricks they have used recently. They have threatened to impound cars, to arrest drivers and seize their licences if they refuse to buy e-tags. Now they are threatening motorists who choose not to buy e-tags with hefty tariffs-up to three times higher. What next?
Garth. Thank you for the Botha Attorneys comment on e-tolling. I copied it and forwarded it to hundreds of clients in the Gauteng area, from medical doctors to mechanics, with the exception of those clients who hold elevated positions in the ANC.
To sum up our position, I would like to quote from a recent article in the LONDON TIMES (England):
‘Interesting point of view Affirmative Action: “South Africa is the only country in the world where affirmative action is in the favour of the majority who has complete political control. The fact that the political majority requires affirmative action to protect them against a 9% minority group is a testament to a complete failure on their part to build their own wealth making structures, such that their only solution is to take it from others.”
Finally, a word coined to describe South Africa’s current political situation.
Ineptocracy (in-ep-toc’-ra-cy)
-a system of government where the least capable to lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a diminishing number of producers.’
Hi all,
As you know there are a lot of chain letters circulating on the internet. As an IT professional, I know all about these! I also received a PDF which appears to be from Botha Attorneys. While it all looks valid, wouldnt we all feel slightly silly if this were in fact a hoax… or if someone has embellished it. There are plenty of tools out there to edit PDF files. I also tried to call the phone number on the PDF, it rings once then cuts out. the fax does work, however, and the email address is valid. but google searches dont bring up this attorney at their address, which is also unusual.
Before you forward the document to everyone you know, perhaps first establish the validity of the document.
Has anyone managed to contact these attorneys ?
The problems with e-tolling are:
1. It creates an unfortunate set of unintended consequences such as it distorts property prices.
2. It can cause job losses. They say it will create jobs but those jobs are not productive and therefore lower yhe overall productivity and competitiveness of SA.
3. There will be enormous and unsustainable use by vehicles particularly heavy trucks on suburban roads.
The death toll on the roads will rise because of the excess vehicle riding through the suburbs.
4′ The toll differentiation between those with e-tags and those without is a penalty that is unfair on the basis that it is probably illegal and definitely unethical to charge different prices for the same thing.
5. This is forcing people to buy a product they don’t want and it belongs to them anyway.. The roads are already paid for by the people for the people.
Hi Malcolm, I Googled Botha Attorneys. Plenty! Take your pick. Not as per the post though. Sounds like Bull!
Malcolm, as a so called IT professional, maybe you should google the e-tag contract. This was not a hoax I also checked. We also do not know your bona fides, for all we know you work for SANRAL. Do not boast your IT knowledge there are a lot of IT professionals out there and some very talented amateurs.
Just think back to the excitement when the announcement about the highway upgrade was made. We were bombarded with messages about how easily people would get to the world cup games, and thereafter how South Africans would benefit from the upgrades.
Strangely enough, these roads were never completed in time for the world cup. Why not? Because they were never intended for the world cup. We blindly trusted leaders who have their own interests at heart. The timing was good for them to start their business. Another question: why weren’t they honest about their business from the start?
Why didn’t they tell us that, by upgrading our roads, we would be tolled into the end of the world? In any business there are beneficiaries. Who is set to benefit from the Gauteng toll roads, apart from the Austrian company? Our leaders promised us a lot of services. Toll roads were never promised to the voters in South Africa.
I get the impression that the ANC are show-offs, trying to prove to the rest of Africa that we are the greatest nation in Africa. And all built on the back of what the British and Apartheid governments had already achieved. They inherited an existing infrastructure gratis and are now trying to claim what a great country we are by implementing a few changes. The Gautrain, the upgrading of existing roads, changes to Durban’s beach front. All at the cost of a mere six million taxpayers.
In another Wonkie subject, I said ‘watch this space’. I was talking about the new era we are entering into where we, the people, will no longer tolerate domination by churches, governments, the corporate sector and those in control of world money. Round one proved itself. The standing together against the e-tolling system, and winning for now. In addition we have Mr. Tellenger taking on the banks unaided by legal representitives about their ability to repossess property when they have in fact sold your and my debt to an overseas investor. Only the buyer of our debt can repossess, not the bank who acted as a go-between. The banks do not have the funds they promise to lend us – they merely sell our signatures to overseas investors and banking institutions.
A Pope once said to a famous statesman: A parliamentarian must always look at his morals. Are we to take on Jacob Zuma’s morals next in an effort to prove he is not fit to occupy his throne?
Scorpio, the whole world is run on debt. It is the new commodity. If those banks tried to collect the debt they would find that it all cannot be repaid now’ in instalments or in any future. The banks themselves are all technically bankrupt. And the nations who slavishly borrow from them, the banks then become too big to fail. Because those states too would go under. Don’t ask me how this came about but maybe it was because of Nations borrowing too much like the 17billion our government has borrowed from the pension fund to partially finance the toll roads.
nothing to celebrate for.
It seems like our votes are in vein what happened to leaders who stand for their citizens as opposed to these ones who are just on thier own benefits after all we founded these toll, its like buying a car on cash but stil pay to ride in your own car?. I wl b a victim of these so-called etolls and on top we stil have to pay direct and indirect tax? have mercy on us we also wana get married evry year for the african sake (as men).
Hey – this is a great time to get a job for the law courts as a sheriff. There will be millions of summons for non payment that will have to be delivered. They will have to pay you danger money as well – especially if you come to my door.