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Aarto IT to cost millions

Audra Mahlong
By Audra Mahlong, senior journalist
Johannesburg, 29 Jan 2010

The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) will spend over R300 million on IT and marketing for the new demerit system for motorists.

While the details of the various tenders are yet to be released, the RTMC says they will be issued in time for the planned roll-out of the final phase of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Act (Aarto), in April.

The RTMC is piloting the demerit system in the Tshwane and Johannesburg Metropolitan areas. When the demerit point system is implemented, the demerits will reflect against the driving licences of infringing motorists on the National Contravention Register, on eNatis.

During the pilot, the RTMC identified problems within the law enforcement, systems and procedure environments - but dismissed any recommendations that the roll-out should be delayed.

Transport minister Sibusiso Ndebele previously admitted to problems and indicated the deadline would not apply to all provinces, but stated the 2010 deadline was final.

The RTMC says problems which were highlighted existed before Aarto was introduced. These included postal processes, lack of infrastructure, electronic versus physical enforcements, office administrative resources, skills development and training of authorised officers, and communication and marketing awareness strategies.

Despite calls by the Justice Project of SA (JPSA) and the National Metropolitan Police Chiefs Forum (NMPCF) earlier this year for the delay of the demerit system, the department says it is still committed to rolling out the system in the next few months.

In July, the JPSA hijacked the Aarto Web site in protest. This was followed by a report by the NMPCF, which stated systems were flawed and recommended the department halt the planned nationwide deployment of the demerit system.

The National Metropolitan Police Chiefs Forum also sent a report to Ndebele, listing additional problems, which include eNatis's handling of payments, the unlawful issuing of fines and several transgressions of the Aarto Act.

“Aarto will be implemented in 2010. It will tighten law enforcement in the country. It will reduce the burden on our courts and will change the behaviour of road users,” emphasises Ndebele.

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