It was this time last year when the Western Cape High Court reviewed and set aside approvals that would allow the South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) to toll highways in the Winelands District.

Sanral wanted to set up toll booths along the N1 and N2, but the City of Cape Town argued that this “tolling will adversely affect the poor” and that there are other ways to fund the upgrading of roads.

Sanral argued that if tolling doesn’t happen, the roads won’t be upgraded for two decades. Pfffft, look how well the City has done.

Sitting in the Supreme Court of Appeal today, Sanral’s appeal was dismissed. News24 explains:

The city’s stance is that according to the Sanral Act, only the Sanral board can declare a toll road. The board allegedly did not do this.

Sanral previously said in a statement that there had been speculation and misinformation about the funding model to be used on the project.

It’s Western Cape regional manager, Kobus van der Walt, said the initial cost of works would be R10 billion, R2bn short of Sanral’s total allocation per annum.

Van der Walt said the Western Cape was the only province that had permission from National Treasury to implement a fuel levy to finance roads but had not implemented this.

The Western Cape’s Brett Herron was pretty stoked with the decision:

This is good news for the City of Cape Town, for our economy, for our residents because it prevents Sanral from imposing on us an illegal toll road system that would have devastated our economy.

Kinda like e-tolls, right?

When it comes to tolling roads, I can understand tolls been placed on stretches that involve a bridge or a tunnel – but right in the middle of a district that has many people using the roads to travel every day?

That’s a bit silly, Sanral. The Winelands District isn’t as sparse as you think.

[source:news24&ewn]