Tempers flared last night during public hearings on the e-tolling of Gauteng’s highways.
Angry motorists expressed their disgust at what they called infringement of their rights at the meeting, held at the CSIR International Conference Centre.
Some members of the public staged a walkout after they felt their questions were not answered.
They accused the panel of “ducking and diving” and avoiding questions.
Last night’s hearing follows one held in Kempton Park on Tuesday during which members of the public walked out, claiming that their concerns were not being adequately addressed.
Members argued that alternative roads to the e-tolled highways were in a poor state.
Yusuf Abramjee, speaking as a citizen of Gauteng, asked: “How are we going to use alternative routes when they are in a bad state? What is the alternative route to OR Tambo International Airport from Pretoria?”
Ahmed Motiar said e-tolling would victimise the victims of apartheid.
“You’re aggravating the situation of those poor people,” he said.
The crowd got agitated when the Treasury’s Marissa Moore said they had conducted a study that showed that the poor would not be affected because they used public transport.
“We have done a study on the people who use the highway and we are certain that we are not touching the poor. People who use public transport are the poor,” said Moore.
Phutas Tseki, from Cosatu, said it was an insult for Moore to say people in townships didn’t own cars and only used public transport. -The Star