No special e-toll courts: minister
Justice Minister Jeff Radebe has confirmed to the Democratic Alliance that he is not contemplating the establishment of special e-toll courts.
According to the minister, prosecutions will be done in the ordinary district courts, while “there will be a constant review of the capacity requirements of the district courts as the roll out of the e-toll process progresses”.
It was reported in October that motorists who refused to pay their e-toll bills could end up in a special court for prosecution.
According to the report, Justice Department spokesman Mthunzi Mhaga said Sanral had asked for such a court, adding that “We (Justice department) are still talking about what would be the best method”.
What happens if you don’t pay?
Sanral and former transport minister Ben Martins had earlier acknowledged that the controversial AARTO Act would not be used to prosecute e-toll non-payers, but rather the Criminal Procedure Act.
Motorists would receive fines by registered mail that could lead to a court summons.
Vusi Mona, Sanral spokesman, said motorists who did not pay their toll fees would be charged under the Sanral Act.
If the first debt collection process fails, a final notice will be sent and the matter will be handed over to the prosecuting authority.
However, both Outa head, Wayne Duvenage, and chairman of Justice Project South Africa (JPSA), Howard Dembovsky believe that Sanral and the Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) company are in for a rude awakening.
Wayne Duvenage says no to e-tags
“Given the fact that some 600,000 e-tags have allegedly been sold, at the very least, the quantum of individuals who will be regarded to be e-toll transgressors could be in the order of one million people or more per day,” Dembovsky said in October.
Even if Sanral decides to combine all of the transgressions committed by each e-toll transgressor into a single summons over a period of a month, this would mean that 1 million matters will have to be set down for trial each month, Dembovsky said.
“You really don’t have to be a professor of applied mathematics to calculate that it will be physically impossible for the courts to handle these volumes,” the JSPA chairman said.
The department of transport and Sanral announced that e-tolls will commence on 3 December 2013. According to transport minister Dipuo Peters, Sanral has in excess of 1.4 million unsold e-tags.
“We (Outa) are aware that once they announce e-tolls commencement, there will be a number of people going out to buy tags, but we believe this will not be enough and the system will fail – it’s just a matter of time,” Duveange said.
More on e-toll courts
E-toll non-payers could end up in special court
E-toll courts another burden for motorists
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