Johannesburg - The report on e-tolls released by Gauteng premier David Makhura is a victory for poor and working class people, the SA Communist Party said on Friday.
“We believe this is a victory for the poor and working people in the province, considering the fact that e-tolls were presented as... being non-negotiable and cast in stone,” said provincial spokesman Lucian Segami.
The SACP welcomed the “strong and decisive leadership” by provincial government in appointing the panel.
The panel was appointed on July 17 to examine the economic and social effect of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project and the e-tolling system set up to fund it.
On Thursday, Makhura released the findings and recommendations made by the panel.
The SACP reiterated that the solution for the poor would not be found in e-tolling, but rather in an “integrated, sustainable, safe, efficient and effective public transport system”.
Makhura said the main recommendation of the panel was that elements of the current e-toll system be reviewed to address questions of affordability, equity, fairness, administrative simplicity and sustainability.
Sapa