Should the owner of the Ekurhuleni-based Thandanani Transport, Verna Naidoo, have to pay his outstanding R1.8 million e-toll bill, he would be forced to close his business and lay off 30 staff members.
It’s the reason why he approached the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) two years ago and why his is now one of four key cases that Outa is taking to court next year as part of one big consolidated test case. Outa CEO Wayne Duvenage confirmed to FTW that this consolidated case would be used for the main dispute of the overall “legality challenges” to the e-tolls system itself, separate from the specifics of each individual case.
“While it’s still too early for a court date, once the cases are consolidated and key issues identified, the process of discovery (requests for documents and evidence) will start, which may take the court hearings process well into 2019,” said Duvenage.
Naidoo told FTW that this was the first time in his “62 years on earth” that he had ever challenged a government policy but that this was for a “just cause”.
“I’m not fighting government; as a transport operator for 25 years I have always been compliant, but this was a regulation that was just too difficult to comply with. “It’s simply unaffordable and not sustainable for a transport business that operates 10 trucks,” he said. According to Naidoo, he bought an e-tag and intended to comply but when it came time to pay, there were so many issues and challenges around the e-tolls that he took a ‘waitand-see’ approach.
“I decided to see if the issues were resolved before paying because there has been so much confusion from the start,” he said. However, in 2016 Naidoo received a summons for an amount of R400 000.
“I simply could not afford this, which was why I became a member of Outa and asked them to fight this for me,” he said. Two years later, he faces an outstanding payment of R1.8 million. “South Africans in general, and the transport industry in particular, have faced so many economic challenges and it’s become impossible to sustain a business. Government needs to take a rain check on e-toll costs,” said Naidoo.
“There are already so many costs transporters have to bear, including massive fuel hikes, delays due to unannounced stops along trade routes, and now the pending Carbon Tax Bill.” He said that government was focused on job creation on the one hand, but was making it impossible for businesses to survive with all the expensive revenue-generating regulations.
He said his wife had appealed to him many times to close shop but he didn’t feel comfortable doing so because he supported over 30 families through his business which offers cargo transport throughout southern Africa. “I have already cut down to employing my staff only three of four days a week.”
He said that in his 25 years operating as a transporter, the last few years had been the hardest. His main reason for non-payment initially was affordability but he said he had become “angry” when Sanral offered a 60% discount for outstanding fees last year. “By how much were they then overcharging us if they could still make it with 60% less?” Naidoo queried.
Furthermore, the argument that “the poor” are unaffected by e-toll fees is “unreasonable” he pointed out. “Everyone who eats or wears clothes is affected because those items are transported via tolled roads,” said Naidoo.
Verna Naidoo of Thandanani Transport.
