The Effect of the
first respondent's failure to consult the Bulawayo City Council before
declaring the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Road before Nyamandlovu turn-off a Toll
Point
Section
3(2) of the Toll Roads Act [Chapter 13:13] provides -
“Before
declaring a road to be a toll-road in terms of subsection (1), the Minister
shall consult the local authority concerned, ...
The Effect of the
first respondent's failure to consult the Bulawayo City Council before
declaring the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Road before Nyamandlovu turn-off a Toll
Point
Section
3(2) of the Toll Roads Act [Chapter 13:13] provides -
“Before
declaring a road to be a toll-road in terms of subsection (1), the Minister
shall consult the local authority concerned, where the road is within the area
of jurisdiction of a local authority.”
It
is common cause that the first respondent did not consult the Bulawayo City
Council before making the declaration.
The
first respondent's position is that there was no need to consult the Bulawayo
City Council because the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and Urban
Development granted his Ministry authority over this Bulawayo-Victoria Falls
Road.
That
the toll point is in an area within Bulawayo City Council is beyond dispute.
What
the first respondent is alleging is that although this road runs through the
City of Bulawayo, that section of the road itself is outside the jurisdiction
of the City of Bulawayo. In the circumstances, the first respondent argues that
the requirement for consulting the City of Bulawayo falls away, as the section
of the road is already under its authority.
I
agree with the first respondent that once the road was placed under the first
respondent's authority, the need to consult the local authority falls away. The
Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Road is no longer under the jurisdiction of the
Bulawayo City Council - so section 3(2) of the Toll Roads Act [Chapter 13:13]
is not applicable.
If
the road in question was under the jurisdiction of the Bulawayo City Council, section
3(2) of the Toll Roads Act [Chapter 13:13] would be applicable, and failure to
consult the Bulawayo City Council would have rendered the declaration of the
disputed toll point a nullity – South African Roads Board v Johannesburg City
Council 1991 (4) SA 1 and Public Carriers Association and Others v Toll com
Road Concessionaires (Pty) Ltd and Others 1989 (4) SA 574...,.
In casu, the road is no longer under the
jurisdiction of the local authority but the first respondent. The toll point is
on the trunk road, and not of the area controlled by the Bulawayo City Council.
