OUTA's vision is a prosperous South Africa with an organised, engaged and empowered civil society that ensures responsible use of tax revenues throughout all levels of Government. OUTA's mission is to be a trusted vehicle for positive change, promoting and advancing the South African Constitution and other democratic processes by:
Challenging and taking action against maladministration and corruption and where possible, holding those personally responsible to account for their conduct and actions.
Challenging policy and the regulatory environment as and when deemed as irrational, unfit or ineffective for their intended purpose.
Working with communities and authorities in improving administration and service delivery, within all spheres of Government.
OUTA was initially established in early 2012 as the Opposition Against Urban Tolling Alliance, an association of business organisations that grouped together to challenge the South African Government's plan to introduce an urban electronic toll collection, e-toll, in the province of Gauteng.
In 2015 OUTA launched its Rule of Law campaign which undertook to challenge the scheme by launching a crowd funded “eToll Defence Umbrella” to defend road users who defied the scheme, in the event that the South African National Roads Agency issued summonses against defaulters. OUTA's campaign challenged Government's claims, exposed public complaints and system weaknesses, which in turn generated a successful civil disobedience campaign that reduced eToll payment compliance from 40% in June 2014 to around 25% by 2020.
Mandate expansion and name change
In February 2016, OUTA changed its name to Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse, to accommodate the expansion of its mandate to challenge corruption and maladministration in the South African Government and its state-owned entities.
In June 2017, OUTA provided insights and proof of state capture and corruption to Parliament by releasing its ‘No Room To Hide: A President Caught in the Act’ report, which largely implicated the disgraced former President Jacob Zuma. Leading up to the vote of no confidence in President Zuma in August 2017, OUTA published its ‘No Room To Hide: A President Caught in the Act’ report, which was a narrative complication of the Gupta leaks which linked him to state capture.
In March 2017, OUTA and the South African Airways Pilots' Association brought an application in the Pretoria High Court for an order to declare Dudu Myeni a delinquent director, based on her conduct and actions during her five-year term as chairperson of the South African Airways board. On 27th May 2020 Pretoria High Court Judge Ronel Tolmay declared Myeni a delinquent director and banned her from holding any directorship position for life. Myeni was ordered to pay all legal costs of the action. The judgement and evidence has been referred to the National Prosecuting Authority so a criminal case can be pursued.
