The Makhura Panel: National Minister must come clean on it

Gauteng Premier David Makhura tried desperately to create a perception of a final solution for the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP) e-Tolls problem when he was forced to make public the findings made by the panel he had set up on this issue. Despite his apparent attempts at keeping the findings secret until this month (I can’t think of a logical reason why) information was leaking like a sieve. He had no choice but to make the report public before there was nothing left to tell Gautengers! This was supposedly the ANC’s solution in bringing back the many Provincial votes that they had lost in the 2014 Elections. Cynically, the very fact that Premier Makhura felt e-tolls must be reviewed vindicates and confirms what the DA and the majority of the public have been saying from the beginning. The ballots at the voting stations had indeed spoken! Elements of what the panel highlighted were included in the DA submission. The Official Opposition was also heard! By far the funding model for e-tolls is of greatest concern and alternatives need to be considered. The panel confirmed what the DA had been saying; that indeed it is the poor that suffer the most financially with e-tolls whilst the wealthy can afford to circumvent the e-tolls system. However, no satisfactory solution was proposed in this regard! I was surprised at the announcement by the Premier that he is already working with the three metros, (Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni) in Gauteng as he has reached a “dead end” on this matter as any application of recommendations can only be implemented nationally under the political leadership of Minister Dipuo Peters. According to the recommendations, instead of being relieved of the financial burden of e-tolls, motorists will still be forced to pay for the GFIP through other means, such as exorbitant increases on motor vehicle licence fees and other “stealth taxes”. In the final analysis the conclusion is simple, Makhura and his administration and the structures of the ANC in Gauteng have created this panel and all the hype that went round it as an antidote to the votes they lost in the National Elections. They hoped that this would create a perception that the ANC and the Provincial government is on the voter’s side and that an alternative is sought. Nothing could be further from the truth. All this is simply a smokescreen to try to keep the public at bay. How wrong the Premier was! The Premier has no influence in making any changes on this matter as this is a national competence that only the National Minister of Transport can decide on. There have been “double-speak” from all sides, both provincial and national ANC politicians) as contradictory messages continue. We need clarity on this matter as the Premier has reached the end of the road on this matter. I will, at the next opportunity be asking in Parliament for the Minister to take South Africa into her confidence and tell us if she will be considering this report or any aspect thereof. The public cannot be left “hanging” on this matter.