The South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) has welcomed the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (SACCI) support for e-tolling in Gauteng, which will go live on 3 December.

This comes after CEO of SACCI, Neren Rau, urged his members to comply with e-tolling.

Sanral spokesperson Vusi Mona said: “As with the Gauteng highways, big business is a vital part of the economy of not only this province but of the country.

“It is therefore a significant endorsement to have its backing”.

SACCI has in 2010 expressed concern at the cost to business of traffic congestion caused by poor maintenance of infrastructure.

The Chamber said: “Based on estimates of 90 000 vehicles travelling between Pretoria and Johannesburg between 06:30am and 08:30am on weekdays, with one person per vehicle and an average of R170 per hour, SACCI conservatively estimates that the cost to the economy is R15 million per hour”.

Sanral offers a number of services for businesses with regards to e-tolling which includes:

Bulk Registration Service

The service offers groups of people (in excess of 50) a service whereby registration is facilitated at a venue of their choice. This service is ideal for a company that has staff members that are Gauteng e-road users.

Fleet Registration

A Fleet Registration Service is offered to a company that has a fleet of vehicles. A variety of services are offered to facilitate the obtaining and registration of e-tags:

· Road user education by means of presentation.
· Convenient registration process.
· Access to an interface for account registration and maintenance.
· E-tag issuing and distribution.
· A dedicated support team which operates between 6am and 10pm, 7 days week.

If a company’s fleet is managed by a fleet management service provider, a company can contact its fleet manager to enquire about the e-toll services offered.

“Sanral wishes to make the registration process as convenient as possible for businesses to ensure maximum compliance in Gauteng,” said Mona. - SAnews.gov.za

The Deputy Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, Rejoice Mabudafhasi, has given the Elandsfontein Colliery a week to stop polluting water and operating without a water use licence or face criminal charges.

Mabudafhasi issued the directive to the CEO of Namane Holdings, John Schoeman, who is responsible for Elandsfontein Colliery in Emalahleni, Mpumalanga. This comes after she visited the coal mine.

The mine is accused of, among others, diverting the flow of an unknown stream through its mining activities. The stream is a subsidiary of Olinfants River, where fish was reported to have died from pollution in the past two years.

The colliery is also accused of discharging waste into four abandoned voids through an unlined channel in violation of the National Water Act of 1998. It is also alleged to have discharged water containing waste from the coal plant into an unlined dam.

Furthermore, it is alleged to have discharged water containing waste into two unlined pollution control dams, four voids and the furrow transporting water containing waste to the voids.

Mabudafhasi warned that should the colliery fail to address this, the department will lay criminal charges at Witbank Central Police Station next Monday.

“The mine was in violation of sub-section 21 of the National Water Act of 1998. Should the mine fail to meet this week’s deadline, the department will lay criminal charges against them with a possible penalty of five years or a fine running into millions of rands or an amount to be determined by the courts,” said Mabudafhasi.

Mabudafhasi’s visit to the colliery was part of the launch of this year’s Blitz Week, which is spearheaded by the Compliance, Monitoring and Enforcement, popularly known as the Blue Scorpions of the Department of Water Affairs.

It is an annual event that is aimed at raiding river polluters and offenders who abstract water from the rivers and dams as part of their zero tolerance to pollution and no-compliance.

The deputy minister gave the mine representatives a final warning following complaints that the mine was decanting and operating without a water use licence. The mine is also accused of building illegal structures in the nearby stream to facilitate its operations.

In August this year, the department’s Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement Unit in Mpumalanga issued a pre-directive, giving the mine 21 days to comply.

This was followed by a directive in October, which the mine was given 14 days to comply; however, the mine remained defiant. The final directive instructed them to comply within 7 days or face the full might of the law. – SAnews.gov.za

As the Department of Water Affairs launches National Enforcement Week, a stern warning has been issued to companies and individuals responsible for the pollution of the country’s water resources and violating the National Water Act.

“The department views the pollution of the country’s rivers and dams and the illegal abstraction of water resources as a serious transgression on the National Water Act and warns those breaking the law that action will be taken against them,” said department spokesperson Themba Khumalo.

To kick-start the enforcement week, from 25 – 29 November, Water and Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa is expected to conduct compliance inspections in Emalahleni (Witbank).

The Blitz Week will see a massive effort to clamp down transgressors, where enforcement officers will embark on a Zero Tolerance campaign, which will see action being taken against those responsible for water crimes.

“Department’s enforcement unit, known as the Blue Scorpions will also conduct a number of raids on mines operating without Water Use Licenses, companies and farms polluting water courses and those illegally abstracting water from water courses,” said Khumalo.

A series of similar events are planned across the country throughout the week. – SAnews.gov.za

Midrand – Transport Minister Dipuo Peters says the Gauteng Freeway Management System, from which e-tolling will be enforced, is ready to go live on 3 December.

Speaking to journalists at the SA National Road Agency’s Central Operations Centre, Peters said e-tolling was just one aspect of the overall system, which she said would help enforce safety for motorists on the province’s freeway.

Peters on Sunday conducted a site visit to the operations centre to assess the system’s overall readiness.

“With tolling on the Gauteng e-roads set to commence on the 3rd of December, it is important to note that the system has been up and running for over 18 months.

“During this period, Sanral has had the time to test the system in a live environment, albeit without any transactions or billing taking place.

“But billing is just one important component of the system,” she said.

The full system, Peters said, includes high definition cameras and Sanral’s On-Road Services, amongst others. The On-Road Services come with emergency medical responses in the event of an incident; towing services and constant monitoring of traffic flow on the Gauteng Freeway Network.

“Services are decentralised at strategic positions across the network to allow for rapid response to incidents. Services are operated 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

“In the past year, units responsible for implementing these services have responded to over 4 000 incidents. These incidents include crashes, stranded vehicles, breakdowns and medical assistance,” Peters said.

The minister said it was services such as these that have saved the lives of many motorists, who were able to get assistance within an hour of an incident happening.

She said the project had also been a good job driver, with some 1 300 employees – most of them young people - now working at the centre in Midrand.

Peters also said that those that register for e-tolling will qualify for a 48% discount on tolling tariffs.

Sanral CEO Nazir Alli, who was also at the site visit, said the last time he checked, just over 700 000 motorists had registered for e-tolls, and said 100 000 of these bought tags in a month after the toll tariffs were gazetted.

He urged motorists to register for e-tolling, and said those that do not comply and defy paying for e-tolls would be breaking the law, and would be subjected to debt-collecting processes. – SAnews.gov.za

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Phokeng – People with disabilities, enrolled at Phokeng in Education in the North West province, will now have access to IT devices, which will empower them with the skills to become independent and employable.

The Deputy Minister of Women, Children and People with Disabilities, Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu, and mobile company Cell C on Friday officially opened the school’s computer lab, which has 10 computers installed with the relevant software to meet the students’ needs. This includes Open Book scanning and reading software to enable visually impaired students to read and make notes.

The lab also boasts a double-sided braille printer so students can print copies in braille. Over R300 000 was spent on the equipment.

During the opening of the lab, Cell C also donated three mobile devices, airtime and access to internet connection for a period of 12 months to wheelchair tennis stars.

The event forms part of marking Disability Rights Awareness Month, held under the theme ‘Break barriers, open doors: for an inclusive society for all’.

Speaking at the event, Bogopane-Zulu thanked Cell C for coming on board and making it possible for students with disabilities to access technology tools. She said this would make it easier for them to carry on with their studies and it would give them the skills needed in the workplace.

Bogopane-Zulu had approached Cell C to make them aware of the plight facing people with disabilities, and asked them to assist.

“... This is the beginning of more centres like this to be established in the province,” she said.

She impressed upon students to get ready for the workplace and create the kind of life they want for themselves. She also encouraged them to strive for greatness every day.

“Let us be active citizens… to make South Africa a better place... As you receive these computers, make use of them. We are hoping that you are going to learn to use this equipment to get yourselves ready for work,” Bogopane-Zulu said.

Cell C Executive: Government Relations, Joshua Moela, said the company was honoured to take part in Disability Rights Awareness Month.

“People with disabilities have a right to access to ICT equipment, such as mobile devices,” Moela said, adding that they will be proud when they see the students making a difference in their communities.

North West Education MEC Wendy Matsemela said the department was in the process of empowering teachers in South African Sign Language. She said the computer lab would help to level the playing field for students with disabilities.

Phokeng in Education is an independent training and skills development service provider, which specialises in braille studies, South African Sign Language, ICT training for youth with disabilities, visually impaired and hard of hearing persons in and around the rural villages of Rustenburg and the greater North West province.

The institution also provides training in scarce skills such as braille production, orientation and mobility services to enable visually impaired people to live more independent lives.

The school was founded in 2003 as a satellite campus of a prominent business college operating in the mainstream sector. In February 2007, it was registered as an independent institute of training, skills development and research focused on programmes affecting people with disabilities and rural youth in and around the province. - SAnews.gov.za