Pollution in the Electronic National Traffic Information System (eNatis) - one of the reasons few traffic infringements are paid - will hinder e-tolling as unregistered motorists will not always receive their bills.
Compliance with e-toll bills by motorists who have not bought e-tags is expected to be even less than the 12.9% collection rate, since 2008, for fines issued under the Department of Transport's Gauteng pilot of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Offences (Aarto) Act.
The eNatis system includes registers of motor vehicles, motor trade numbers, temporary and special permits, as well as driving licences and professional driving permits. The Department of Transport awarded the eNatis contract to Tasima, which developed and still operates the system, in December 2001.
Some 15 databases from the previous system were migrated into one national database under the project.
Find 'em
Ian Ollis, the Democratic Alliance's shadow minister of transport, says the eNatis database is "grossly corrupt" in terms of information on vehicle owners. He says, if people do not buy e-tags, the South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) will only have a photograph of a vehicle with a number plate and the make and model. "How do they find you?"
According to Sanral, about 600 000 motorists have e-tags, although this figure has been questioned by opponents to the controversial system. According to the Automobile Association, there are about four million registered vehicles in Gauteng.
Ollis says the flaws with the eNatis database present a "massive" problem for Sanral and the consortium that has to collect e-tolls. He notes the Aarto Act will govern the way in which the e-toll concessionaire collects unpaid tolls from motorists.
"If only 12.19% of fines issued since 2008 have been collected, there is simply no way that the collection of unpaid e-toll payments will be any different - enforcing compliance will be impossible."
Financial pressure
Sanral has said it has almost totally depleted its available cash for its toll portfolio, a situation that has been blamed on the delay in e-toll commencement. The agency is waiting for president Jacob Zuma to sign the so-called e-toll Bill - or the Transport and Related Matters Amendment Bill - before tolling can start.
Spokesman Vusi Mona has said the agency is not able to fund itself through the capital markets under the present circumstances, and is in talks with banks for about R1.5 billion-worth of bonds, which will become "critical" within the next three months.
Ollis says that, because of the anti-e-toll sentiment, the compliance level is likely to be less than that for Aarto. He adds that unpaid bills, which will eventually lead to summons being issued, will place a large burden on the courts.
Not done
However, Justice Project SA chairman, Howard Dembovsky, points out that in June last year, draft regulations proposed a fix to the problem, which was never implemented. The gazetted changes mooted that address particulars be verified on the system.
Dembovsky has said eNatis is "one of the most polluted databases in SA". The biggest problem is that the data provided via municipalities is often not updated, such as when road users renew vehicle licences and fill in the change of address form, which the municipalities do not capture, he added.
In addition, people who pay their licence fees at the post office cannot change addresses, as the post office has no access to the system to do this function, notes Dembovsky. The pollution of the eNatis registry will play a large role in defeating any attempts to enforce any road traffic laws, he says.
As none of the draft regulations have been given as much attention as the e-toll Bill and regulations, authorities will keep on sending notices to badly out-of-date address particulars, says Dembovsky.
"We can write as many laws as we wish, but until those who enforce them are prepared to toe the line and do what they are mandated to do, they are wasting their time and only the unfortunate few whose details are in fact correct on eNatis will be affected."
Dembovsky adds e-tolling will not work for several reasons, but the eNatis anomaly will severely affect enforcement: "It's not easy to prosecute ghosts."
The Department of Transport did not respond to a request for comment, and neither did Gert van Eeden, eNatis project director at Tasima, and Sanral.
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