The SACP and Cosatu in Mpumalanga to protest against ‘exorbitant’ toll fees

The SACP and Cosatu in Mpumalanga to protest against ‘exorbitant’ toll fees

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) and the South African Communist Party (SACP) in Mpumalanga will be leading a protest against high toll fees tomorrow.

The protest will start at 10:00 at Trichardt Plaza (N17), Ermelo Plaza (N17), Nkomazi Plaza (N4), Middelburg Plaza (N4), Machadodorp Plaza (N4) and Malelane Plaza.

In a joint statement the two organisations said that they want to raise awareness of the plight of road users during the current economic downturn.

“We want to fight for accessible, affordable and reliable transport and roads for all and for the reduction by at least 50% of all toll fees so that it is affordable for all road users. Communities who live next to the toll roads and are regular users of toll roads to and from their workplaces must also be exempted from paying toll fees,” Lucky Mbuyane, provincial secretary of the SACP in Mpumalanga, says.

We want to fight for accessible, affordable and reliable transport and roads for all and for the reduction of all toll fees so that it is affordable for all road users.

Lucky Mbuyane

The two organisations also demand that public transport and other regular users be subsidised to alleviate the burden of high toll fees on commuters, and that social labour plans by the road agencies be to the benefit of surrounding communities,” Mbuyane said.

The two organisations further promised to fight for the total control of national roads by the state and the abolishment of concessions or third parties to increase revenue for the state.

“These protests are informed by the failure of the TRAC management to find time to meet with us as we were hoping to reach a common understanding with them. This deliberate refusal proves to us that this company does not care about the plight of the people and is hell-bent on putting profits before the people,” he said.

The main protest will be directed to Machadodorp Toll Plaza because it is the most expensive toll plaza in the country at R112 for a car.

“We call on all our social partners, including the taxi industry, to join the protests and also fight for their rights to use these roads without the heavy financial burden imposed on them by TRAC,” Mbuyane concluded.