Speaker, day by day the harsh effects of e-tolling are becoming increasingly clear in South Africa, particularly in Gauteng.
Yesterday the retail giant, Shoprite Checkers, revealed that it would be applying for an e-toll exemption, as e-tolls will cost the company about R4 million per year. As a direct result, customers in Gauteng will suffer the consequences of rising food prices.
The true cost of e-tolling is, in fact, that the system impacts everybody, whether they are road users or not. It doesn't stop with Shoprite Checkers; all companies with distribution or delivery vehicles that travel nonstop on Gauteng's e-tolled freeways will be forced to increase the prices of their produce, goods and services.
Mr Speaker, if one of the country's largest retailers asks for an e-toll exemption, I shudder to think of the effects e-tolls are having on small and medium enterprises. Job losses linked to these increased expenses are sure to follow.
The people of Gauteng do not want, and simply cannot afford, e-tolling. They can afford neither increases in the cost of food and other living expenses, nor job losses.
Gauteng does not need a government that ignores these very real concerns. Just two days ago, the outgoing Premier of Gauteng, Nomvula Mokonyane, unashamedly supported e-tolls in her final state of the province address. The more people suffer, the more the ANC ignores them. Luckily for South Africans, and unluckily for the ANC, each and every individual has an opportunity to fight this unjust system at the ballot box. I shall be voting DA.