The federation on Friday met with the inter-ministerial committee set up by Cabinet to address the GFIP and e-tolling as its funding mechanism.

The meeting at Cosatu House, in Braamfontein, was part of ongoing stakeholder consultations being held by the committee.

Principle agreement

“It was agreed that the Alliance Task Team would meet again to look at discrepancies between two reports on the GFIP, and to amend its mandate with a view to consensus on the broader and short-term issues,” says a joint statement on the meeting.

As chair of the committee, deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe said the committee is undertaking consultations with an open mind to hear stakeholder concerns that will eventually be presented to Cabinet. “The idea is for us to explore the best possible way of finding a solution to this challenge.”

He added that from all the GFIP consultations to date, there was in-principle agreement among stakeholders that the principle of user pay is key; that the South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) is an outstanding agency, whose creditworthiness has to be sustained; and that in the current economic environment, poor and unemployed people should not be burdened with additional costs.

Motlanthe expressed the need for a speedy solution and stressed that Sanral's credit worthiness cannot be risked, according to the Government Communication and Information System.

It quotes him as saying: "Being creditworthy means that you are able to service your debt and you are able to pay your capital loans and if Sanral cannot pay its debt, it will mean that they can't be creditworthy. It is for this reason that we have said let us give Sanral the support it deserves.

Inappropriate toll

Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi said the federation welcomes the consultations and had always insisted that the country was morally obliged to service the debt incurred for the GFIP. It would work with government on ways to do this.

The meeting explored government's plans to decongest Gauteng freeways and improve public transport, as well as proposals on using vehicle licensing fees, personal and income tax and a fuel levy as means to replace toll fees, according to the statement.

Cosatu is of the view that the road network is a public good and that it is inappropriate to toll urban roads. It led a mass march against e-tolling earlier this year.

Government and the federation agreed to meet again in two weeks to consider a report on options developed by the ANC-Cosatu-SACP Alliance for the servicing of GFIP debt.

Treasury is currently opposing a court interdict against the implementation of e-tolling.