traffic jam is born - justice project south africa
TRANSCRIPT
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Traffic Jam is born
For some time now, JPSA has been sending out frequent but unscheduled updates to its mem-
bers and other interested parties. Although this practice will naturally continue due to the
nature of what we do and the rapid developments in the sphere of traffic law enforcement
and road safety issues associated with it, we are formalizing a quarterly publication of general
interest to all concerned.
We will keep you up to date with developments on AARTO and other traffic legislation as well
as the activities of JPSA, which is constantly striving to ensure that the abusive practices of the
past and present are halted and that traffic law enforcement becomes fair, equitable and
achieves the mandate that it is supposed to—ensuring compliance and saving lives, rather
than simply making traffic authorities and their employees and business partners stinking rich.
This first issue contains no advertisements but should you wish to advertise in any of our forth-
coming issues, please give us a shout. Our publications reach a subscriber list of over 1,000
readers and we estimate that each recipient forwards them to at least 5 other people each
time we send one out. The main thing is that everyone who gets them, reads them inside out!
We welcome your suggestions on topics for articles you would like to see in future issues,
along with your letters and we will even publish your own articles should you wish to write one
for us. Simply email these to [email protected].
We hope you enjoy reading this publication and that you get something useful out of doing so.
in this issue
The Hot Seat P.2 eTags– The modern day dompas P.3
Sell your house—you’ve got fines! P.4 Bylaw enforcement P.5
The descent into a police state P. 6 Shoulder lane driving P.7
The Constitution Under Attack P.8 Legislative Challenges P.9 The root of all evil... P.10
AARTO UPDATE So, it was officially announced that
AARTO will not be rolled out on 1
April 2012 as previously threatened.
So what’s this mean? Well, in all
honesty it’s doubtful that it will hap-
pen in the 12 months ahead either.
Why not? Simply put, there’s just
too much that needs to happen first;
from legislative changes to training
and other preparedness issues; and
as much as many role-players like to
say that they are ready to roll out
AARTO in their areas, the fact is that
even the JMPD and TMPD have not
got it right yet. Nor has the RTIA.
Then there’s the little matter of how
the JMPD has been ignoring many
provisions of the Act for ages now,
with the full knowledge of the RTIA.
And as for the AARTO summit that
was supposed to take place in June
2011, that has now been cancelled.
So, the next time you get an email
saying that the points-demerit sys-
tem came into play at midnight on
Tuesday, hit the delete button
please!
Traffic Jam The Newsletter from Justice Project South Africa
Issue 1 of 2012—Published 12 April 2012
2
The Hot Seat—Chairman’s Update
It would seem that when the going
gets tough, the tough get stupid .
When Japh Chuwe took over the
reins at the RTIA in 2010, after Col-
lins Letsoalo swept through the
RTMC and seized the control from
anyone appointed by the crooked
Ranthoko Rakgoale, the previously
well oiled RTIA AARTO machine
came to all but a grinding halt.
Whereas from July 2008 through
January 2010, the RTIA generally
escalated unpaid infringement notic-
es to courtesy letters and then to
enforcement orders as the Act pre-
scribed, it now only goes as far as
courtesy letters.
Add to this that a many unpaid in-
fringement notices from 2008 on-
wards have still not been escalated
beyond infringement notices and is
it any wonder that people continue
to ignore them?
Chuwe’s solution? Contract debt
collectors to hound people and
threaten them with escalation to
enforcement orders, warrants of
execution and blacklisting with cred-
it bureaus.
Amongst the “debts” these bottom
feeders are chasing are fines from
2010 starting with 02-4099 where
the infringement notices were inde-
cipherable and Gerrie Gerneke of
the JMPD falsely stated to the media
that they would all be cancelled.
So much for the word of Gerrie
Gerneke and so much for the com-
petence and professional, judicial
ethics of Japh Chuwe and the RTIA.
2012 is only a quarter way done and al-
ready, much has happened. From the leaked
announcement that AARTO will be rolled out
nationwide by 1 April 2012 and the subse-
quent retraction thereof to formal criminal
charges finally being brought against TMPD
deputy chief Ndumiso Jaca, there simply
hasn’t been a dull moment.
Coupled with this is the fact that the compli-
ant laid by JPSA against the JMPD/RTIA/
RTMC with the Public Protector relating to
the unlawful posting of AARTO infringement
notices has finally kicked into gear, but is still
not finalized.
And then there’s the Gauteng eTolling (or
the modern day “dompas” as I prefer to call
it) that has been announced to be coming
into effect from 30 April 2012.
So, with a start like this to the year, what can
we expect from the rest of 2012? Well, in my
opinion, we are in for a very exciting year
indeed and there are going to be a whole lot
of scraps in-between.
JPSA and I were amongst the most vocal
when it came to the garbage that emanated
from the Minister of Transport and his co-
hort, Collins Letsoalo during the latter part
of last year.
From the talk of lowering the speed limits
applicable on national freeways to threats of
immediate seizure, suspension and cancella-
tion of people’s driving licenses at the road-
side, these two really went overboard with
their pious and impractical threats over the
festive season.
Then in February, it was revealed that the
RTMC is “technically insolvent” and Ashref
Ismail announced on 702/Cape Talk that the
Acting CEO, Collins Letsoalo is also the
“acting board” of the RTMC. How exactly
does that work, pray tell?
That being what it may, Ismail then went on
to say that criminal charges had been
brought against former CEO, Ranthoko Rak-
goale and “other RTMC staff in early 2011”
but when I challenged him on this and asked
for the case numbers, all hell broke loose.
The next day anonymous callers launched
multiple personal attacks on my character in
a desperate bid to silence me, but that has
had little or no effect.
I am acutely aware that when you stand up
to the bullies in their playground, you cannot
reasonably expect to come out of it without
a blood nose or two and I will take their
punches on the nose in my stride. After all,
anyone can make anonymous statements
about anyone or anything and in doing so,
demean their own credibility. At least I have
the guts to use my real name, not so?
Even when people like Japh Chuwe choose
to state in writing and on national television
that my objections to debt collectors being
engaged by the RTIA comes from my “lack of
understanding of the Act”, I don't mind
much, given the fact that my statements are
backed up by legislation while his come from
his desperation to cover up his own Agency’s
inefficiencies and bring in funds for the RTIA.
It is sad indeed that instead of fixing what is
wrong, these individuals choose to play the
man instead of the game. If and when they
come to understand that doing things the
right way the first time around is the only
way to not give people ammunition to criti-
cize them, then things may improve.
Until then, it’s not reasonable to expect peo-
ple like me to shut up, is it?
“When you stand up to the bullies in their playground, you cannot rea-
sonably expect to come out of it without a blood nose or two.”
Circumventing AARTO— Desperate measures for desperate times?
3
In his budget speech, finance minister Pravin
Gordhan proudly announced that govern-
ment had decided to meet Gauteng citizens
“half way” on the eTolling issue by allocating
R5.8 billion to the R20 odd billion debt that
SANRAL had incurred in the Gauteng Free-
way Improvement Project. (GFIP)
He also announced that the tolling fee appli-
cable would be 30c/km for cars with a
monthly cap of R550 a month per car.
The tumultuous applause which resulted in
Parliament came from those least likely to
be adversely affected by these tolls—the
ministers and MP’s that don't pay their own
travel expenses anyway—you and I do!
When his announcement was met with con-
tempt by civic groups and COSATU alike, he
said “the decision has been made; let’s not
turn this into an adversarial relationship”.
Then Jimmy Manyi climbed on the band
wagon, saying “you had better buy an eTag
and register with SANRAL or you will face
the full might of the law”. What law?
The threats came in the awesome absence
of any legislation to do with Open Road
Tolling and the eTag method of collecting
thereon and shows just how completely out
of touch our government and State Owned
Companies are with both, reality and the
financial situations of SA’s citizens.
Then came the bombshell draft legislation
published on 27 March, giving just 20 days
for comments to be submitted. This legisla-
tion seeks to grant SANRAL employees
search and seizure powers without warrant,
in direct conflict with the Constitution.
JPSA will be submitting comments on behalf
of its members and will publish these online
for all to see. In the meantime, OUTA is pro-
ceeding with a court challenge of the entire
eTolling debacle and if their founding affida-
vit is anything to go by, they will succeed!
The eTolling issue has been met with such
strong opposition that this may in fact turn
into the final straw that broke the camel’s
back and turns hard-working, citizens into a
riotous mob of brick hurlers if it’s not
stopped. Time will tell.
But then again, what’s going to happen to
the R17 billion invested in it by the Govern-
ment Pension Fund?
The impact of eTolling on the poor
TOLL FEES Are they really what they appear to be?
So, government has heard the pleas
of the embattled Gauteng road users
and has kindly slashed the rate from
40c to 30c per kilometer. Hooray!
But guess what? The SANRAL Terms
and Conditions which go along with
the eTag clearly state that the toll
charges are not calculated per kilo-
meter, but on a per gantry basis.
That’s exactly why SANRAL needs to
provide an online eToll calculator
and exactly why you cannot calcu-
late your expenses without it!
DID YOU KNOW? Exemptions are limited.
Registered public transport vehicles
like buses and minibus taxis are
exempt from the eTolls and so they
should be. But it’s just during peak
times we’re told, not weekends, etc.
And what about emergency vehicles
like ambulances & fire engines? Well
they, like you and me, are expected
to pay the tolls. So, either emergen-
cy vehicles will have to take alterna-
tive routes to get to you if you are in
a crash, or the cost of the tolls will
have to be passed onto you if they
come to rescue you!
The ordinary motorist will have to fork out a maximum of R550 a month (for now)
when/if tolling comes into effect on 30 April 2012. There are some who can easily
afford this added expense and there are droves who simply cannot.
But here’s the clincher—these caps do not apply to the heavy land transportation vehi-
cles which transport commodities such as bread, milk and other foodstuffs to the
stores that you and I buy them from.
If anyone thinks that transport and logistics companies are simply going to absorb the-
se added costs, then they are sorely mistaken. Indeed, these costs have to be passed
onto the consumer and thereby, everyone, rich and poor alike, in all provinces will pay.
One also has to wonder if, like Eskom, SANRAL will simply increase the toll rates by
astronomic proportions each year. After all, when they have you locked into an eTag, as
is planned, how will you be able to stop them going mad with your money?
eTags—The Modern Day, Electronic Dompas
4
Sell your house—you have traffic fines to pay! On 4 April 2012, all hell broke loose when
people who had made representation on
their infringement notices (delivered by ordi-
nary post) suddenly started getting AARTO
09 results of representation stating that they
must now pay fines of 100 times the original
fine amount or elect to be tried in court.
This caused widespread with those who re-
ceived these erroneous documents and their
fears were not allayed when some of them
called the RTMC call centre to ask what this
was all about.
Wendy Alberts, CEO of the Restaurant Asso-
ciation was one such person and when she
called in, she was told that she must pay the
3 R50 000 fines or she would be arrested.
Sherman Amos, deputy registrar of the RTIA
was made aware of this anomaly and quickly
got onto the case. His explanation to the
media was that the JMPD had “upgraded” its
software and in doing so the fine amounts
were now being represented in cents instead
of Rands.
That may well be, but the question must be
asked why this software was not tested be-
fore being used in a live environment? It was
reported that this error affected some
50 000 AARTO 09 documents and that too
bears testimony to two things. Firstly, that a
large number of people will be getting the
shock of their life, but secondly and more
importantly, that the JMPD rejects a huge
amount of representations. All of them to be
more accurate.
The software story is a seemingly reasonable
explanation, but how do you explain the
actions of the call centre staff who told Wen-
dy’s PA to cough up, or risk arrest?
AARTO makes no provision for arrest for
outstanding traffic fines and anyone sug-
gesting that someone will be arrested for
not paying is an act of extortion.
Then there’s what the JMPD staff are saying
to people who choose to elect to be tried in
court. They’re telling people “these fines
will not go away and the courts will nail you,
so just pay”.
They are furthermore refusing to accept
AARTO 10 election to be tried in court forms
and this is a violation of the Constitutional
right everyone has to be tried by a compe-
tent court.
The problem is that the JMPD, and more
recently, the RTIA have become used to vio-
lating the AARTO Act and all legislation that
exists in South Africa, in favor of acting as
issuer, judge, jury and executioner.
Their perversion of legislation and abuse of
their powers has reached an all-time high
and things are getting worse, not better.
You can only hold your breath and see how
next they decide to abuse people, and it
would be very presumptuous to say that this
screw-up will bring an end to their abuse.
EXTORTION PERFECTED Rejected representations a standard
The JMPD has been allowed to per-
vert the course of Administrative
Justice by running its own AARTO
representations office, staffed by
nothing more than admin staff.
The AARTO Act lays down legal qual-
ifications representations officers
must possess but Gerrie Gerneke
doesn't care about that.
In December 2011, he transferred
the public prosecutors previously
tasked with handling representa-
tions and brought in a crew of com-
puter operators from MVS Phumele-
lo to summarily reject all representa-
tions made to the JMPD.
COURT—THE BEST CHOICE When Administrative Justice is Failing
When you receive an AARTO 09
rejecting your representation, don’t
be scared into paying the fine in-
stead of electing to be tried in
court!
Our courts are amongst the few
functional public institutions left
and you should never be scared to
have your day in court. Remember
always; authorities must follow the
prescripts of the law, just like you
have to.
Wendy Alberts received an AARTO
09 stating that her representation
for her fine that she took the 50%
discount on was rejected and she
must now pay R50 000, not the ex-
tra R250 of the R500 fine.
5
Bylaw enforcement. In February 2012, the JMPD bylaw manage-
ment unit (BMU), in conjunction with SAPS,
swooped on trendy Parkhurst restaurants
and suddenly started impounding tables
which were on the pavements.
This came as a shock to restaurant owners
and diners alike, with some diners who got
the hell in with them ending up being arrest-
ed, detained and charged with “interfering
with police in the execution of their duties”.
The charges were later withdrawn by the
public prosecutor.
Restaurateurs had to pay fines and impound
fees to get their tables back and were an-
noyed by the way in which their patrons
were treated, but in all honesty had they not
blocked pavements with their tables, this
would never have happened.
Then came the next shock for Parkhurst,
where all of a sudden, parking marshals de-
scended on the suburb and started demand-
ing parking fees from motorists parking their
cars there.
Like happened in Braamfontein, motorists
and business owners alike were up in arms
about this and when the furore broke, sud-
denly the JMPD’s Wayne Minnaar came out
saying that this was a “marketing exercise”.
Ace Parking Solutions, a company that has
been contracted by the JMPD to implement
metered parking in prime parking spots pro-
vides these parking marshals and in return
gets paid 75% of every rand collected.
There can be no argument that bylaws exist
and should be enforced, but it is astounding
how the JMPD chooses to enforce some and
not others and it is also astounding how they
do so without so much as warning the public
and business owners alike that they are go-
ing to do so now.
Whilst they implement parking charges in
busy areas and impound tables, the JMPD
leave the multitudes of window washers,
beggars and hawkers to run riot in traffic,
often intimidating motorists.
Then there is the little matter of when mo-
torists are fined for not paying parking fees,
this happens on a section 341 notice, in vio-
lation of the AARTO Act… (see alongside)
A voice of reason...
PARKING TICKETS AARTO Applies to the JMPD
AARTO was proclaimed to be in
force in the operational area of the
JMPD with effect from 1 November
2009 and from that date, all infringe-
ment notices, including parking tick-
ets have to be issued in accordance
with the Act.
But the JMPD has chosen to ignore
this when it comes to parking tickets
and instead, they issue them in
terms of section 341 of the Criminal
Procedure Act. You should not pay
these and can approach a public
prosecutor to have them withdrawn.
All unattended infringements must
be cited on an AARTO 31 notice!
GOT A BYLAW ISSUE? Who should you contact?
If you have a bylaw issue like noisy
taverns or window washers in inter-
sections, don’t just leave it, report it.
The head of the JMPD BMU is Direc-
tor Isaac Sipho Dlepu and he can be
contacted on (011) 490 1630. Alter-
natively, you can contact Harold
Maile on (011) 490 1707.
Take a stand against bylaw violations
and report them!
Not every law is made to simply annoy people and/or generate revenues and some
have very good reasoning behind them. Placing dining tables on a pavement, which is
actually a walkway for pedestrians, in such a way as to cause them to have to walk on
the roadway instead is inconsiderate at best and downright dangerous at worst. It is
also stealing from public coffers as no rent is paid for this space.
Parking fees are commonplace in every major metropolitan area in the world and in
many cases, metered parking is designed not only to generate an income for the City,
but more importantly, to control the length of time that a vehicle occupies a parking
bay. Where parking is free and unmetered in busy areas, those looking for a parking
can’t get one because many motorists “abandon” their vehicles in a parking bay for the
entire day.
So, the next time you lose it because of bylaw enforcement taking place, think what
you would do if it was you who couldn't park or had to dodge tables on a sidewalk.
6
JPSA Membership
Membership of JPSA is open to any
person who has a valid means of iden-
tification and wishes to become a
member.
Membership fees can be paid month-
ly by debit order or annually up front.
Members enjoy the benefits of be-
longing to JPSA, which includes access
to expert assistance in traffic law
matters as well as access to our Priori-
ty Assist service—for a small addition-
al monthly fee.
To join JPSA simply visit our website
at www.jp-sa.org and sign up.
SA’s Descent into a Police State
The article to the left appeared on the Joburg web-
site on 5 April 2012 and clearly shows why we are
experiencing such abuse in law enforcement at the
moment.
Wayne Minnaar holds the rank of Chief Superinten-
dent and should know the law and his job much
better than to make statements like so and so is
“punishable with arrest”.
Arrest is not intended to be a form of punishment;
it is intended to be a means to ensure that an ac-
cused person is brought before the courts.
But it is quite clearly asking way too much for the
likes of any so-called law enforcement official who
has become used to abusing people to understand
their place in the criminal justice system.
The role of law enforcement authorities is to en-
force the law by ensuring compliance through de-
tecting non-compliance and bringing offenders to
book—whether through fining them where this is
prescribed or bringing them before a court in more
serious cases. If such senior ranking officials as a Chief Superintendent believe that their mandate extends to punishing offenders by ar-
resting them, then this can only be described as a decent into a Police State where the courts have no value in the criminal justice system
and the Police get to punish alleged offenders at will, regardless of whether they get a fair trial or not or whether it is proven in court that
they are guilty or not. If we allow this, we are doomed.
The Cancer of Corruption
Corruption is on the increase, particularly
in law enforcement agencies and especially
in the metro’s.
Sexual harassment has also become a big
problem for females travelling on their own
and men also experience physical abuse.
Each time that anyone pays a bribe, the
cancer of corruption spreads and worse
consequences result.
If you are ever asked for a bribe or sexually
harassed by a cop, report it immediately
and never, never pay a bribe.
If you give in and pay, you simply fuel the
fire and make it worth their while.
Did you know?
You are required by law to carry your
driving licence with you at all times
when driving.
If you are stopped and you don't have
it with you, the authority concerned
can issue you with a fine of R1,250 for
driving without possessing a driving
licence, with an alternative fine of
R500 for failing to carry your driving
licence.
If this happens to you, you must com-
plete an AARTO 08 representation
providing proof that you have a valid
driving licence or the fine will remain
R1250. (Applicable to AARTO)
You have the right to remain silent— If you are ever arrested by police or traffic officials, please remember that you have the right to
remain silent, have legal representation and be treated with human dignity amongst a host of other things. Do not, under any circum-
stances take legal advice given to you by police or prosecutors; especially if they try to coerce you into paying an admission of guilt fine.
Get competent representation and don't believe that your family lawyer is always capable of dealing with criminal matters. JPSA members
with Priority Assist have access to competent advice and response services and, if needs be, referral to competent criminal attorneys.
7
Shoulder lane driving... On 15 March 2012, scores of people were
arrested for driving in the shoulder lane on
Beyers Naude Drive at the intersection of
Malope Road.
After being made to wait a half an hour or so
while the JMPD attained a quota of 50 peo-
ple or so, the arrested were taken to Honey-
dew Police Station.
These motorists were then detained for al-
most 4 hours before effectively being forced
to pay R1000 admission of guilt fines. Few, if
any, were taxi drivers—they were mostly
moms taking their kids to school! That there
were few taxi drivers in this lot is in itself a
testament to the fact that people have
learned to copy taxi drivers —moms too!
The law states that you may not drive on the
shoulder (emergency) lane or verge of the
road unless the road you are on only caters
for a single lane of traffic in each direction
and you are turning left. Anyone who sits in
gridlock traffic and abides by this law usually
get’s really angry when other motorists
come whizzing past them and many would
be tempted to say “I am glad these people
were arrested”, but that is no reason to
sanction unlawful punishment, is it?
AARTO was proclaimed as being in force
with effect from 1 November 2008 in the
jurisdiction of the JMPD. This Act has some-
thing called “Schedule 3”, wherein every
traffic violation you may be charged with is
contained.
Charge code 5006 reads “Being the driver of
a vehicle, passed another vehicle proceeding
in the same direction on that road on the left
by driving on the shoulder or verge of the
road - Reg. 298(1)”. This charge is classified
as an infringement for which arrest is not
allowed. It carries a fine of R1000, which
under AARTO is discounted by 50% if it is
paid within 32 days.
In this case, a fine is prescribed and if you
feel that the JMPD were entitled to discard
this requirement and arrest these people
instead, then you are saying that the actions
of the Vaalwater cop who kicked the living
daylights out of the youth that he arrested
were okay by you too.
Laws are written for a reason and everyone,
including the law enforcement authorities
must abide by their provisions. If a particular
violation prescribes a fine, then it is a fine
that should be issued. If it prescribes a court
appearance, then that is what must happen.
The second that cops get to decide what
your punishment should be, there is a prob-
lem. Arrest is supposed to be for the purpose
of investigation/securing your attendance in
court and NOT a means to punish you or
force you to pay an admission of guilt fine!
We also have to remember that in this par-
ticular case, young school children were also
detained with their mothers and this breeds
fear of the Police.
INCONSIDERATE DRIVING It’s just not right
Inconsiderate driving is a charge that
covers a wide range of actions that a
driver can commit and would be
considered inconsiderate to others.
For a long time, this charge was used
as an alternative criminal charge to
reckless or negligent driving because
it is easier to prove.
But with the inception of AARTO, it
was classified as a very minor in-
fringement with a fine of R250.
Why then is it that the JMPD feel
that they can arrest people and
charge them with this non-crime?
The Police should know and abide
by the law to earn respect.
INSTANT “JUSTICE” Judge, Jury & Executioner
When one thinks of vigilantes, it’s
not usual to associate them with
uniformed police.
On 14 March 2012 a video of an
assault that took place on 24 Nov
2011 appeared and suddenly, after
going viral, Warrant Officer Petrus
Lefoka got suspended and charged
with assault. That it took so long to
happen is very sad indeed.
19-year old Norman Mokau gets
kicked senseless by Warrant Officer
Petrus Lefoka of Vaalwater SAPS.
If you haven’t done so already,
watch the full video at:
http://youtu.be/_PI73_Z1uPc
8
Speak up now or forever be abused!
Ask yourself a simple question.
“What do I know about the Constitu-
tion of my country?”
If your truthful answer is “little or
nothing” then, don’t beat yourself
up, but make a concerted effort to
visit www.wethepeople.org.za and
download and read the Constitution.
It’s not only your right, but your re-
sponsibility to know what the Con-
stitution says and what protection it
affords you! Ignorance is not bliss.
When South Africa’s Constitution was enact-
ed in 1996, it was hailed to be one of the
most advanced Constitutions in the world.
Since then, it has undergone 16 amend-
ments in its 16 years of existence, the most
recent of which was in 2009.
Another famous Constitution is that of the
United States of America, which incidentally
is known inside out by almost every Ameri-
can, despite the fact that the vast majority
of Americans are oblivious to much else
around them.
Enacted in 1787, the US Constitution has
undergone a grand total of 27 amendments
over its over 224 years of existence, the lat-
est of which was in 1992.
But now it would seem that some have de-
cided that our Constitution is no longer rele-
vant to South Africa and it has been an-
nounced that it needs to be changed. Not
amended again—changed in totality and
that is where one has got to hear the warn-
ing bells ringing.
They have also said that “Constitutions are
living documents reflecting the stage of de-
velopment of a given society” and whilst this
is most certainly true to some extent, there
is a huge difference between amending the
Constitution to modernize certain provisions
and changing it in its entirety to suit one’s
own political objectives.
Patrick Henry said: “The Constitution is not
an instrument of the Government to restrain
the people; it is an instrument of the people
to restrain the Government; Lest it come to
dominate our lives and interests.”
Indeed, the Constitution seems to have be-
come a thorn in the side of some people and
clearly, it makes perfect sense to get rid of
anything that hinders one’s aspirations to a
one-party-state and total control of citizens’
lives, like has become the case elsewhere on
this continent.
But what if our Constitution were to be
changed? Would you even know what our
current Constitution has in it and what it
means for and to you, as a citizen of this
country? Would you miss anything that gets
discarded anyway?
Shockingly, whilst the phrase “our Constitu-
tion” is bandied about left, right and centre,
very few South Africans know much about it
or the Bill of Rights. So the question must be
asked, if you know little or nothing about our
Constitution, what would you care if it was
changed?
The short answer is that although you may
not care what our current Constitution says,
you will definitely miss the rights and free-
doms it bestows on you when they are gone.
Take for example, the Protection of State
Information Bill which seeks to jail journal-
ists and others who expose corruption by
acquiring documents that prove this to be
so.
Then take your right to be presumed inno-
cent until proven guilty in a competent
court, and your right to appear before one
within 48 hours of arrest. If these go, you
could easily find yourself languishing without
trial in jail on the say so of no more than a
student policeman.
If you think that it’s not worth fighting for
the retention of the Constitution, then you
obviously haven’t read it and if you think you
can sit back and let others do the fighting for
you, you are honestly courting disaster.
Unrestrained government is very dangerous.
“South Africa has one of the most advanced Constitutions in the world,
but now that ‘our democracy’ is evolving’, some want to change it.”
Know the Constitution www.wethepeople.org.za
Testing Tolerance It’s been happening for ages
Anyone who thinks that the latest
proposal to change the Constitution
is a sudden whim is either a fool or
has been going about their life with
their eyes closed.
This has been coming from the day
that independence came about in
our nation and the current Constitu-
tion was, in fact a compromise
reached during negotiations.
Since 1994, many laws which violate
the Constitution have been passed
into law without challenge.
The presumptions of guilt under the
National Road Traffic Act and AARTO
are prime examples of this and have
clearly demonstrated to government
that we, the people don't care about
the Constitution.
JPSA has noticed these violations
and will not keep quiet about them
but we all need to speak up, don’t
we?
9
Legislative Challenges On 27 March 2012, the Department of
Transport published for comment, draft leg-
islation to deal with the enforcement of
eTolls by SANRAL and which seeks to grant
broad powers to SANRAL employees to
hound motorists using the so-called eRoads.
The time allocated for comment was 20
days, one third less time than is usually al-
lowed for this process and the reason is
quite clear. If they want this in place when
the planned tolling begins on 30 April, there
is no time to mess around with consultation
despite the fact that they’ve had more than
5 years to get legislation in place.
Amongst the provisions of this draft legisla-
tion is the ability of SANRAL employees to
stop, search and seize at any time without
warrant—a power not even granted to the
Hawks and is clearly unconstitutional!
Deputy Transport Minister, Jeremy Cronin
denied that this was so and threatened to
take eTV to the press ombudsman. He later
told the Beeld Newspaper that he had not
read the draft. One has to wonder what he
was thinking.
JPSA is submitting comments on this draft
legislation on behalf of its members, but will
this be enough to stop these unconstitution-
al provisions from being enacted? Quite
frankly, it’s doubtful given the fact that the
Transport Department generally does what
it pleases and has no regard for the Constitu-
tion. It is far more likely that this will have to
be challenged in the Constitutional Court—a
very costly and time-consuming exercise
which government counts on being so to
stifle most challenges against its virulent
lawmaking tendencies.
Another court challenge on the cards is that
of OUTA (Opposition to Urban Tolling Alli-
ance) being brought by SAVRALA and other
interested parties with respect to eTolling.
Their founding affidavit (166 pages) is so
strong that it’s highly unlikely that it will
achieve anything short of a total halt to this
eTolling nonsense.
But how sad is it that civic organizations—
particularly those like JPSA have to be forced
to invest millions in court challenges be-
cause government simply refuses to listen or
even speak with us? SAVRALA may have the
money to bring these matters to court but
JPSA certainly doesn't! Yes, we have legal
professionals who are prepared to act on
our behalf but we simply don't have the se-
curity for costs that courts demand before
they will hear your case.
Sadly, access to the higher courts of this
country is a privilege of only the very rich -
no matter how good your argument is and
no matter whether it is for the good of the
people or not.
When approaches to government meet with
snubbing and contempt, they then classify
you as being anti-government, simply be-
cause they refuse to talk to you. It’s bizarre!
PRESUMPTION OF GUILT Yes, you heard right
The National Road Traffic, AARTO
and SANRAL Acts all say that the
registered owner of a vehicle will be
presumed to have been the driver in
the absence of proof to the contrary.
When it comes to camera fines, this
is extended to you having to provide
proof that it was not you or your
vehicle that was photographed
speeding.
Photographs are almost always tak-
en of the rear of a vehicle, thus
effectively paralyzing you from iden-
tifying the driver in a photo—if in-
deed it was your vehicle and not a
clone or one using false plates.
SEIZURE OF DOCUMENTS Forcing lawlessness upon you
One of the draft provisions pro-
posed is to allow SANRAL employ-
ees to seize your driving licence,
operator card and licence disc if
they deem it fitting to do so.
If this happens and you subsequent-
ly drive, then you will effectively be
guilty of an offence in terms of the
National Road Traffic Act—brought
upon you by an employee of
SANRAL. In other words, they will
A vehicle with a GVM over 3,500kg
without an operator card is subject
to a R1000 fine and can be im-
pounded as it would be considered
to be unroadworthy. If this card is
seized, this could easily happen.
10
About JPSA
Justice Project South Africa (JPSA) is
a non-profit company (organization)
that was established to fight corrup-
tion and abusive law enforcement,
particularly in the field of traffic.
Our motto is “Evil can only triumph
where good men and women do
nothing” and this has, and continues
to prove itself true over and again.
To say that we are disliked by some
very powerful people is an under-
statement, however this is no rea-
son for us to back down and we con-
tinue to achieve our mandate as
time progresses.
Traffic Jam Issue 1 of 2012—Published April 2012
Impact, not speed as is claimed kills, but is that a reason for traffic law enforcement agencies to concentrate nearly 99% (98.94%) of
their efforts on camera speed trapping? Is the importance of collecting fine revenues enough to justify setting up daily roadblocks on
major routes in peak hour traffic? And is it so important to maximize revenue that R15 per postage item is saved in posting AARTO 03
infringement notices by ordinary post when the AARTO Act requires service by registered mail?
Is it not a sign of things to come when frequent and flagrant violations of legislation not only take place, but then get sanctioned by the
likes of the registrar of the RTIA, when he suddenly and out of the blue, changes his tune from saying that infringement notices sent by
ordinary mail are unlawful to “I am satisfied that by making a representation, the accused has acknowledged receipt”?
The root of all evil...
JUSTICE PROJECT SOUTH AFRICA (NPC)
500 Kyalami Boulevard, Kyalami Office Park
Kyalami, Midrand
012 753 6802 or 081 302 3694 tel
086 647 3293 fax
Join JPSA at www.jp-sa.org
It has been said that the root of all evil is the love of money and nowhere has this been more
apparent than in traffic law enforcement in South Africa. People die in their droves on our
country’s roads each year and each time you venture out onto our roads, you take your life in
your hands because reckless and lawless drivers are absolutely everywhere.
Why has this come about and why is the situation getting worse instead of improving? Simple,
because traffic law enforcement in South Africa is about little more than making money—not
just a little, but a lot of it.
Let’s just grow up and face it. If people obeyed speed limits, these infringement notices
would not be issued against them in the first place, but that is no excuse for so-called “law
enforcement agencies” to also break the law by not complying with the prescripts of the
applicable legislation and allowing them to do so is also allowing a Police State to evolve.
Only when law enforcement becomes about tackling the real issues of lawlessness on our roads that cause crashes, plus the focus of
generating revenues is discarded will we see any improvement in both, the death tolls on our roads and the driving experience that law-
abiding motorists encounter on a daily basis. For now however, it’s every person for themselves while various agencies and private busi-
nesses alike continue to profit from lawlessness. It is very sad indeed that the root of all evil continues to be allowed to drive traffic
“enforcement” in our country.
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