City of Joburg puts the brakes on traffic cash looters

Share this article: Share Tweet Share Share Share Email Share

Johannesburg - Corruption across traffic licencing centres has cost the City of Joburg so many millions in lost revenue that it hopes to ban cash payments and digitise every activity in the near future, according to MMC for Public Safety Michael Sun. Speaking about improvements aimed at transforming its centres to function like businesses, Sun said: “We literally lose millions. It’s a serious problem. As the City, we want to change the way services are delivered.” He said a criminal syndicate was looting crucial revenue and hampering service delivery. “There is a syndicate externally that collaborates with officials internally. They rob the City of valuable revenue. “They go to the queues outside the traffic centres, taking bribes from people to cancel traffic fines. In fact, these people are not only robbing the City, they are robbing the citizens,” he said.

Sun said the City was constrained from rendering some services such as repairing roads because of rampant corruption.

However, he could not immediately quantify how much was lost to corruption.

“We are a responsible government and we won’t allow this to continue,” he said.

The Marlboro traffic centre was already equipped with the digital system and would serve as a benchmark for other stations across Joburg.

CCTV cameras would be installed to monitor activities as part of improvements at the centres.

At the Akasia traffic station, the City of Tshwane has been actively warning motorists to refrain from dealing with “runners”, who camp outside traffic centres, promising to revoke their traffic fines at a cheaper fee.

Monde Mkalipi, spokesperson for the Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA), said it was working with municipalities to combat corruption at the centres.

A multidisciplinary team had been set up to investigate.

“Upon realising the allegation of runners claiming to cancel enforcement orders, the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) national task team set up a team to investigate the issue of the runners in Joburg, Tshwane and rest of Gauteng.”

The team comprised of officials from the RTIA, Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC), SAPS and the affected municipalities, he said.

Mkalipi added that the agency had started to roll out the Aarto service outlets at selected driving licence testing centres in Gauteng where motorists received services directly from the RTIA.

“These Aarto service outlets will also assist at eliminating ‘runners’ who wait outside the registering authority/issuing authority or licensing department, where they trick road users by claiming that they have connections inside and therefore they can help to resolve traffic fines quickly in return for payment.”

The Aarto process provided for five elective options to assist motorists who were unable to settle their fines .

“One of those options is the ability to enter into long-term payment arrangements with the RTIA through instalments. In this way, the motorist who has a large sum to pay for outstanding infringements can address them with better ease and less financial pressure.”

Simon Zwane, RTMC spokesperson, said it had arrested some “runners” and officials in Joburg and Pretoria. However, he could not say what the officials had been charged with.

Saturday Star