*Young Communist League of South Africa - YCLSA* *Gauteng Provincial Working Committee Statement on e-tolling*
*24 January 2012* The Provincial Working Committee (PWC) of the Young Communist League of South Africa [uFasimba] in the province of Gauteng reflected extensively on the problem of e-tolling. As the YCLSA we welcome the latest intervention by the national department of transport, albeit somewhat vague, which led to a halt in the implementation of e-tolling in February 2012. We particularly want the intervention to explore alternative ways by which the problem of e-tolling can be resolved. We believe if government can explore alternative avenues to raise resources for the repayment of the loans that have been made to improve the Gauteng highway road network a temporary solution could be found. It is our correctly held conclusion that rather than elite-based transport infrastructure development trajectory that characterises much of the policies that have been implemented in Gauteng over the past years it is actually the advancement of an integrated, accessible, safe, reliable and affordable public transport system that represents a long lasting solution. Our PWC noted that the problem of e-tolling exposed several weaknesses in the discourse that tends to occupy the centre stage in public engagement. In particular the regime of price setting in which those who own private corporations heap up profit, expropriate surplus value from workers’ toil and accumulate it as private capital whereas passing the cost of production and distribution to the consumers, with the working class as the majority, and the state, must not be left to go on unchallenged. Much of our important infrastructure development, and associated transport including Gautrain, has unfortunately been geared to serve the very private accumulation interests. As the YCLSA we are saying all this advancement of the capitalist class at the expense of the working class including the tax it pays must come to an end. Members of the working class by both position and location, of who make up an overwhelming majority of our people, are not even paid to own a car and be on the road as and when they please. As such, the Second Plenary Session of our Third Congress Provincial Executive Committee, scheduled to take place within the first two weeks of February, shall approve a thoroughgoing and all-inclusive programme of action to challenge this neoliberal trajectory. *Issued on behalf of the Gauteng YCLSA PWC by:* Alex Mashilo – Provincial Secretary 082 9200 308 Further contact: Matankana Mothapo – Provincial Spokesperson 082 759 0900 -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] .
