Scapegoat hunt

This is the time of “we promise” addresses and “this is how we're going to spend your money” speeches by a government that doesn't always get it right.

But the question most likely on the minds of most Gauteng road users concerns a certain tolling system, the reputation of which far precedes it.

Like a reluctant teenager with a toothache, Gauteng motorists and other affected parties ignored the dull pains of e-tolling that throbbed quietly in the background, despite its potential to become something much bigger.

There were mild grumblings as the project surfaced from time to time, but now that the “pain” has rooted itself, it has all become unbearable.

Once the mild irritation presented itself in full grown form, with a set of too-high toll tariffs, the expected tantrum was thrown when it was almost too late to change anything... almost.

Now the infamous open road tolling system fees situation has been sedated, while government tries to find any alternative besides extraction.

But let's be honest, any outcome is likely to be met with resistance. If the decision is that the toll fees that caused so much public outrage should be lowered, it will never be quite low enough.

But where it gets just ridiculous is that we're not even given a scapegoat. They have to at least throw us one of those.

Farzana Rasool, journalist, ITWeb

If the system is abandoned altogether, it's not hard to foresee the uproar over the R1.16 billion that has been spent on putting the system in place.

I may have only a basic understanding of politics, but in my mind a government is supposed to make life easier for its citizens. As the “dentist” it should be removing, even if painfully, all the nasty problems from within society. It should definitely not be adding to the growing pain and discomfort.

Apart from citizens, labour, business and opposition parties that all expressed strong negative views about the e-tolling system and its pricing structure, in particular, half the ANC also rejected it.

What makes the whole mess harder to endure now is that the government that is forcing this upon the citizens is itself not too sure if this project is actually a well thought out move. Very reassuring.

The Gauteng premier, ANC in Gauteng, and the chairperson for the provincial portfolio committee on transport were all unhappy with the “disastrous” fees.

Maybe a planned procedure is considered old fashioned or something, but wouldn't it have been ideal if the ruling party had had its internal squabble on the matter before the project was given the go-ahead, and then another little debate when the pricing was being decided on?

The government is taking time to reconsider the fees after gazetting them without input from any party, entity, organisation or the public.

If they had done this in the first place, there wouldn't be a last-minute scramble to come up with a new pricing structure four months before the implementation date.

But the reality is that government is reconsidering the pricing structure and we have to look at what this means.

Firstly, it could mean it really cares about what its citizens think, but then we have to think about why it didn't consult them in the first place, if this was the case.

Option two, as suggested by the official opposition party, is that this is all a well-timed election ploy. I have my doubts there. The impending chaos was more likely the factor that pushed reconsideration of the devil fees.

Thirdly, if government is sitting back to reconsider the project now, it means it was taking a big chance with something that wasn't well thought through, or it did actually think it through and took a chance with the intellect and backbone of SA's motorists.

The split leadership over the toll fees might be a clever ploy to prevent anyone from pointing a full finger of accusation at the ruling party.

But where it gets just ridiculous is that we're not even given a scapegoat. They have to at least throw us one of those.

Transport minister Sibusiso Ndebele, with all the thunder of a divine order in his voice, said there will be no scapegoat.

Oh, but there will be, dear sir. Just give us a little time to figure out who it is.

This mess belongs to someone. The ANC is split over the matter so can't be blamed collectively, and Sanral says it's just a puppet, so whose is it?

Was it minister Ndebele, in the Cabinet, with a deep pocket? Or was it Sanral, in the international boardroom, with a few friends?

Who decided that taxing citizens a third time for road maintenance, after normal tax and the fuel levy, was going to go down well?

We will find you, and when we do... well nothing much will probably happen anyway.

But right now, the most pertinent question for us all is: They've given us the battle, but do we get the war?