The Committee wanted to understand the lessons learnt in the implementation of the pilot phase. The metros told the Committee that the implementation had been a challenge, and that they would rather use the old legislation in dealing with traffic fines and road safety.
The City of Johannesburg's Member of the Mayoral Committee Alderman Mr Michael Sun told the Committee that AARTO was supposed to promote road safety, but this had not been the case. "AARTO has not only created challenges for the City, but placed it in a position where there is some unhappiness with other entities and departments. We daily have to deploy resources and clamp down on illegal drivers. AARTO is not having any effect," Mr Sun said.
"When AARTO was announced, drivers were fearful, as the prospect of losing a licence was real, but as time went by this was just ignored as there was no force to effect the law. This is having an impact on our policing," he said.
He urged that Johannesburg Metro be allowed to decommission AARTO and revert to the old legislation, and that the Committee assist by communicating challenges to the Department and the Minister.
His equivalent at the Tshwane Metro, Alderman Mr Derrick Kissoonduth, agreed with him, saying that Tswane had experienced similar challenges. "The demerit system was never implemented, as there would have been major labour implications. Roll out of the project should be done nationally and at once. Otherwise you will disadvantage drivers in Gauteng," Mr Kissoonduth said. He said AARTO was not a bad system, especially if rolled out nationally, but that time is needed to achieve this.
The Chairperson of the Committee, Ms Dikeledi Magadzi, said that to complete their work, Members had to hear about the two metros' experiences of the pilot project from. "Our intention is to ensure safety of our people as they travel on the roads," she said.
Committee Member Mr Joe Maswangayi said the purpose of any pilot was to learn from them. "We cannot take decisions on the basis of two presentations. We need to engage further. A shortcoming is the choice of the pilot sites. The two metros are at the same level, and it would have been preferable if the Department had used one metro and a category B municipality," Mr Maswangayi said.
He said the Committee should consider asking the Minister to raise the matter with MinMec and that a report on how this could be dealt with at executive level be done. "There should be engagements at proper inter-governmental forums on this matter. It will be ideal if the matter is referred to the executive forum with clear timeframes," he said.
The metros also raised issues with delivery notices to offending drivers, cases struck off the roll, revenue collection, and lack of assistance from Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA) and the Road Traffic Management Council.
Committee Member Mr Manny de Freitas felt that the pilot had been a failure. "When motorists realised that there was a programme, they complied, but as soon as that failed they stopped," Mr de Freitas said. He wanted to know how much the AARTO pilot had cost the metros.
The Committee recently held public hearings at Parliament into the AARTO Amendment Bill, where it heard that AARTO was all about safety. RTIA's Mr Chuwe said: "We have seen a lot of challenges, but there have been good lessons learned out of it as well," he said. He requested that the two metros be present when RTIA makes its submission to the Committee.
Ms Magadzi said the proposals would be taken up, and that the presentations were an eye-opener that will give Members a broader understanding of the issues.
Sibongile Maputi
11 November 2016
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