The Road Traffic Offenses Agency (RTIA) says the introduction of the controversial Road Traffic Offenses Administrative Tribunal (Aalto) legislation will increase, rather than reduce, local authorities' income from traffic offenses. .
This follows a report from the Municipality of Swellendam which claimed that the introduction of Aalto would have significant financial implications and could lead to the suspension of the municipality's transport services.
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Regarding the Aalto Law, once the law comes into force, 50% of traffic fine revenue will be transferred from local governments to the RTIA.
Read: Introduction of Aarto could bring municipal transportation services to a halt
The date on which the Aalto Amendment Act will come into force nationwide has not yet been published in the Official Gazette by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga said in July last year that Aalto would be implemented nationwide from 1 July 2024, but the RTIA and the Ministry of Transport reportedly need to finalize certain issues. As a result, implementation has been delayed.
Infringement notification
The Swellendam Municipality report further states that for Aalto to function properly, the municipality would need to enter into an agreement with the South African Post Office to issue notices to alleged infringers, which would be a major hurdle. . If closed, sustained delivery of mail cannot be guaranteed. ”
However, the RTIA stressed that the electronic service of violation notifications to motorists via email or SMS is permitted by the amendments to the Aalto Amendment Act.
RTIA spokesperson Monde Mkalipi told Moneyweb that the value of an infringement notice issued does not necessarily carry the same value as the value paid to the infringer, as there are various options available when receiving a fine. He said no.
Infringers can:
- Pay the fine reduced by the discount contemplated by the Aalto Act or, in the case of minor violations, make a representation to the RTIA.
- For serious violations, you will pay a reduced fine.
- Arrange with RTIA to pay the penalty in installments using a prescribed method.
- Select, in the prescribed manner, to stand trial in a court of law for committing an alleged crime.or
- In the prescribed manner, to the satisfaction of the issuing authority, combine the information that you were not the driver of the motor vehicle at the time of the alleged offense with the name, identity document, place of residence and address of the driver and suspect. provided. While controlling the vehicle.
Mr Mukhalipi said these selection options have always affected the revenue collection of local governments and the RTIA, and he has successfully filed for representation with the RTIA in relation to minor infringements where the infringer has chosen to be tried in court. He said that it sometimes occurs.
He said that if an infringer chooses to be tried in court, local authorities must issue a subpoena to bring such infringer to court, but in the absence of such a subpoena, these He said that the infringement notification system would be broken. Served the infringer.
Mr. Mukhalipi emphasized that this shortcoming is not Aalto's problem, but entirely a criminal procedure law problem.
He noted that the RTIA has found that over time, infringers have found that local governments typically do not have the ability to issue such subpoenas, and that infringers always choose this optional option to be tried in court. , he said, knowing full well that such fines would only cause the system to collapse. Not published.
Therefore, RTIA repealed its elective option in the Aalto Amendment Act.
“We believe that all the revenue previously lost due to this elective option will be made available to local governments and agencies.” [RTIA],” He said.
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Mr Mukhalipi added that during the Aalto pilot, the RTIA and local authorities lost significant revenue, and as a result of the successful representation, notices were not served within the prescribed deadlines set out in the Aalto Support Regulations.
He said RTIA has alleviated this challenge through the introduction of electronic services in the Aalto Amendment.
“This method ensures that infringers receive infringement information on time via email or SMS,” he said.
“This will ultimately result in a significant turnaround in the revenue collection experience for both local governments and government agencies. In particular, government agencies experience an average of 70% successful representation due to service issues. Because I am.”
Additional benefits
Mukalipi said the Aalto Law provides additional benefits to local governments due to the fact that Aalto fines are not subject to statutes of limitations.
Furthermore, Mr. Mukalipi said that Article 20(5) of the Aalto Principal Act gives further “effect” to Aalto's collection of fines, which means that the RTIA is unable to continue driving until the violator commits the offense. It said it could prevent the issuance of driver's licenses, professional driver's licenses and driver's licenses. Honor your obligation to pay fines.
With this mechanism, local governments will collect all of their scheduled revenue, except in instances where representation has been successful, in contrast to the 5% to 12% revenue collection performance currently experienced. He said that would be the case.
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The RTIA also noted the City of Swellendam's report's assertion that there is no guarantee of repayment deadlines for fines collected.
Mr Mukhalipi stressed that during the Aalto pilot period, RTIA has always made payments to local governments within 21 days of receiving the full amount due to them.
He said municipalities will receive the full amount of fines paid within the 32-day discount period, but if the infringer pays the fine after 32 days, the municipality and RTIA will have to pay the full amount of the fine to RTIA. , said that the amount would be shared between the municipality and RTIA. 50/50 split.
Books and software that infringe copyright
The City of Swellendam report also complained that new infringing books had to be procured to respond to Aalto's infringement notice, as well as new software and ICT equipment.
The report said it is still unclear if and when RTIA will supply speed cameras and mobile devices to municipalities.
Mukalipi said that, as with the Criminal Procedure Code, local governments are expected to purchase new infringing books on Aalto, and that RTIA is conducting Aalto readiness assessments to ensure that all local He said the municipality was aware of this requirement.
“It is sad and unfair to expect RTIA to provide law enforcement equipment as if municipalities have not conducted law enforcement in the past,” he said.
revenue collection
It is unclear to what extent local governments rely on traffic fine collections for income, or how much revenue they receive from traffic fine collections.
RTIA's latest 2021/22 annual report revealed that income from infringement fees fell by 32% from R260.25 million in 2021 to R178.23 million in 2022.
However, this only reflects the revenues of municipalities participating in the pilot phase of the Aalto rollout, such as Tshwane Metro and Johannesburg Metro since 2008.
RTIA Registrar Matsemela Moloi attributed the decline in revenue collected from infringement fees to the negative economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and delays in appointing back-office support service providers.
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Mr Mukhalipi did not respond to Moneyweb's questions regarding the forecast of traffic fine revenue if Aalto were rolled out to all municipalities nationwide.
“Further predictions regarding penalty collection will be finalized closer to AARTO's national rollout,” he said.
“Such a process would require intensive consultation with issuing authorities/municipalities.”
The Organization for Combating Tax Abuse (Outa) has repeatedly stated that effective and effective measures to improve road safety should be supported, but Aalto has been bureaucratically clumsy and primarily focused on road safety. It seems to be a fundraising system that is unlikely to contribute.
The Automobile Association (AA) also said the Aalto method was cumbersome, unrealistic and aimed at collecting revenue, not promoting road safety.