The Justice Project SA (JPSA) has welcomed the announcement by the Department of Transport (DOT) that a permanent CEO is to be appointed to the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) soon.
Acting CEO Collins Letsoalo was appointed by minister of transport Sibusiso Ndebele in February last year, in order to allow the investigative processes, pertaining to the management of the time, to unfold.
Ndebele suspended CEO Ranthoko Rakgoale when an independent task team was appointed in February to investigate mismanagement at the RTMC.
Complaints first arose after a damning independent financial audit detailing procurement irregularities and gross financial mismanagement at the RTMC.
The task team report showed all allegations against the Corporation were true. This included R300 million worth of Electronic National Traffic Information System (eNatis) transaction fees that were used irregularly, and IT-related irregularities to the value of R139 million.
Employment terminated
The Corporation yesterday announced the finality of the matter between itself and Rakgoale.
“The matter was concluded and with effect from 1 December 2011, when we mutually agreed to terminate the employment relationship.”
The RTMC adds that the terms of the settlement agreement remain confidential, as per the agreement. However, all matters pertaining to the civil and criminal charges will continue.
“While we understand that his removal from the Corporation had the potential to embarrass many of the so-called stakeholders' committee of the RTMC, it is notable that transparency is not a priority with respect to the operations of the RTMC and DOT,” says JPSA national chairman Howard Dembovsky.
Questionable practices
Although the JPSA welcomes the decision on appointing a new CEO soon, the RTMC told ITWeb that there is no set time-frame for filling the position as yet, since this is a decision that needs to be taken by the shareholders' committee.
“It is our hope that the process of appointing a permanent CEO for the Corporation will follow all laid down procedures and sound business principles for appointing a person to a post as important as CEO, and that this time, a suitably qualified and vetted leader will be appointed, since the RTMC has had more than its fair share of unqualified dictators,” says Dembovsky.
He adds that Letsoalo has occupied the post of acting CEO for almost two years now, and under his tenure, the rollout of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) Act has all but completely stalled, and a number of questionable practices have been the order of the day.
Dembovsky also says the promised Aarto summit has not come to fruition, despite having been announced in June 2011.
“It is highly unlikely that Aarto will be rolled out prior to the end of the current financial year, as repeatedly announced by the Department of Transport and the RTMC.”
The RTMC is tasked with the rollout and facilitation of Aarto.
When the Aarto demerit point system is implemented, the demerits will reflect against the drivers' licences of infringing motorists, on the National Contravention Register, on eNatis.
The RTMC announced it would spend over R300 million on IT and marketing for the new demerit system for motorists.
The system was supposed to be implemented in 2010, but this was postponed to April 2011.
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