I am absolutely mystified that we have reached a situation where e-tolling is going ahead regardless of public protestations.

It is even more concerning that a foreign owned entity will be the major beneficiary in all of this.
Numsa has always taken a stance against neo-liberal policies that are designed to squeeze the working class and the poor more than they already have. The e-tolling project is nothing more than the massive privatisation of public roads. All that the workers will do is to pay again for roads for which they are being taxed in the first place.
E-toll will not resolve the crisis but it does provide a safety net for government. With the rising tide of retrenchment and austerity, government continues to favour right-wing economic policies that produce greater inequality and disparities of wealth.
Waking up to the news that Nelson Mandela, the first democratically elected president has died was equally disheartening. The world-renowned iconic leader has passed away at the age of 95.
We remain inspired by this freedom fighter. Mandela suffered long and brutal incarceration, but never became embittered and revengeful. The founding father of our nation was a humble and modest servant of his people, who never put his personal interests before his commitment to the struggle.
Rest in peace Madiba!