JOHANNESBURG – The DA Joburg South Constituency was part of a picket on Wednesday March, standing outside the office of the Gauteng Premier, on Simmonds Street, in Johannesburg.
The Picket attracted well over 600 people, and was calling for a referendum on the future of E Tolls in Gauteng Province.
Many residents in Gauteng feel the e-tolls have been imposed on them, and that it further reduces their disposal income, making it even harder to make ends meet.
While government claims the poor are exempt from e-tolls, the system has pushed up the price of basic goods and foodstuffs, as businesses push the burden onto consumers, many of whom are the poorest of the poor.
Many Gauteng road users refuse to pay, with some even de-registering, and the collection of monies dropping remains a clear defiance against the system.
“The Gauteng Provincial Government is caught between a rock and a hard place, as it has kept clear from calling for the complete removal of the project. The only way to lay the e-tolls to rest is to have a referendum, in which we believe the majority of Gauteng residents will say no to e-tolls,” said DA Councillor Tyrell Meyers.
