Sunday Tribune April 22, 2007 Edition 1

While there are seven proposed mainline toll plazas and 10 ramp plazas between Durban and East London, one in particular is being targeted to fill the war chest – the Isipingo toll, and Durban motorists are the bedrock which will make the controversial road viable.

The South African Roads Agency (Sanral) wants the issue of tolls dealt with at a later stage by the minister of transport, rather than up front as part of the environmental impact assessment process. But the exhaust fumes raised by this passing of the buck are already thick in the air.

Pointing out that both the provincial government and the eThekwini Municipality had always rejected the toll plaza, City Manager Michael Sutcliffe this week confirmed that they remained firm in their objection. Nothing had changed their stance.

The Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry, too, has stated clearly that it is not in favour of the toll and if the mining concession were to go ahead, the mining company should have to make a “handsome” contribution towards the road’s initial outlay and upkeep.

Roderick Draper, a past president of the chamber who sits on its infrastructure committee and is a member of its board of management, said it was unthinkable that the citizens of the country’s poorest Metro should be required to pay for the road.

While thousands of residents and numerous businesses will be affected by the proposed toll, Toyota SA, which has its assembly plant at Prospecton, is one of the major stakeholders in the area.

The company’s Executive Vice-President, Harry Gazendam, said this would place an additional financial strain on thousands of its employees and its suppliers.

Posted on April 22nd, 2007
Filed under: Newspaper and Media