{"id":473594,"date":"2021-03-07T08:30:48","date_gmt":"2021-03-07T06:30:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=473594"},"modified":"2021-03-07T09:12:47","modified_gmt":"2021-03-07T07:12:47","slug":"sanral-says-it-will-block-your-car-licence-renewals-if-you-dont-pay-e-tolls-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/government\/473594\/sanral-says-it-will-block-your-car-licence-renewals-if-you-dont-pay-e-tolls-report\/","title":{"rendered":"Sanral says it will block your car licence renewals if you don&#8217;t pay e-tolls: report"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>As government continues to drag its feet on providing a &#8220;solution&#8221; to the failed Gauteng e-tolling system, roads agency Sanral is gearing up for a new legal framework which could see motorists fined, or having licence renewals blocked if they don&#8217;t pay their outstanding fees.<\/p>\n<p>The<a href=\"https:\/\/www.news24.com\/citypress\/news\/licence-discs-can-be-withheld-until-your-e-toll-bill-is-paid-up-20210306\"> City Press reports<\/a> that new warnings from Sanral have started appearing online, including\u00a0a warning that vehicle licence renewals will be blocked if a driver has not paid their e-tolls, the paper said.<\/p>\n<p>A Sanral spokesperson reportedly confirmed that the warnings were live, but could not say whether the changes were in effect.<\/p>\n<p>Civil group Outa said that the warning was fear mongering, stating that, if it were in effect, 80% of road users in the province would not be able to renew their vehicle licences.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Renewal of a vehicle licence can only be withheld with if an enforcement order for outstanding infringements fines has been issued against an owner\/driver of a vehicle, and it hasn&#8217;t been paid. Outstanding e-toll fees is not an infringement (road traffic offence),&#8221; it said.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Under current regulations outstanding <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/etolls?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#etolls<\/a> is not an infringement + car licenses can NOT be withheld. Government aims to change this through the introduction of the new <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/AARTO?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#AARTO<\/a> amendments, which <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/OUTA?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#OUTA<\/a> believes are unconstitutional. OUTA is currently challenging new AARTO.<br \/>\nRT <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Z07Tg5e6Ka\">pic.twitter.com\/Z07Tg5e6Ka<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 OUTA (@OUTASA) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/OUTASA\/status\/1368449960677699586?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 7, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>However, a new set of penalties for the non-payment of tolls are coming along with the implementation of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) Act, which takes effect in July 2021.<\/p>\n<p>Under the Aarto, a new demerit and penalties regime will come into effect, which will see motorists start out with a set number of points, losing them if they commit various traffic offences.<\/p>\n<p>In previous drafts of the laws, failing to pay tolls, including e-tolls, would have seen drivers lose one demerit point and receive a fine. Amended laws removed the demerit point, but kept the fines.<\/p>\n<p>According to the Democratic Alliance, as the laws currently stand, drivers face <a href=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/motoring\/440537\/you-will-be-fined-for-not-paying-e-tolls-under-south-africas-new-driving-laws-da\/\">a R500 fine each time they pass under an e-toll gantry and do not pay<\/a> &#8211; while other fees, such as administrative costs of sending fines, could see another R100 slapped on top of that.<\/p>\n<p>Various group have warned that the Aarto may be used to force e-toll compliance, and have opposed the laws on this basis.<\/p>\n<p>Regarding licence renewals, Sanral&#8217;s threat to withhold licence renewals has been sitting on its e-toll website since the &#8220;new e-toll dispensation&#8221; was announced in 2015.<\/p>\n<p><a  data-lightbox=\"post-image\" href=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Dispensation.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-473606\" src=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Dispensation.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"609\" height=\"664\" srcset=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Dispensation.png 609w, https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Dispensation-275x300.png 275w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 609px) 100vw, 609px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>The e-toll problem<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The e-toll system has failed, with less than a quarter of motorists &#8211; typically large fleets &#8211; complying with payments. It has been rejected by the vast majority of drivers, and is now a massive liability for government, which is saddled with billions of rands in outstanding debt.<\/p>\n<p>Government, for its part, has been flip-flopping on e-tolls for years, moving between indications that the system will be scrapped and insistence that it will remain in place to pay the money owed.<\/p>\n<p>A solution to the impasse around the system was promised in 2020, but this was delayed by the Covid-19 outbreak and subsequent lockdown. An outcome to the problem has again been promised <a href=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/motoring\/469010\/major-changes-planned-for-drivers-in-south-africa-including-new-fines-scrapping-taxis-and-an-answer-on-e-tolls\/\">in the coming weeks<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>However, indications are that the system is not going away, with national government repeating its support for the &#8216;user-pays&#8217; principle which is the basis for e-tolls. In the latest budget from National Treasury, explicit support for this principle was given, with finance minister Tito Mboweni saying that, unless it is implemented, <a href=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/budget-speech\/470664\/the-biggest-takeaways-from-mbowenis-budget-speech-including-tax-changes-and-who-will-pay-for-covid-vaccines\/\">Sanral will continue to suffer financially<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>This puts national government in conflict with Gauteng&#8217;s provincial government, which is <a href=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/motoring\/472442\/gauteng-government-is-taking-a-hard-stance-on-e-tolls-report\/\">calling for the system to be scrapped entirely<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The province recently made formal submissions to the national government indicating its rejection of the implementation of e-tolls, with Gauteng MEC Jacob Mamabolo saying that the province is working with the national government to ensure e-tolls are stopped over concerns about the financial impact on motorists.<\/p>\n<p>Mamabolo said that his government is also opposed to the Aarto Act as a means of enforcing e-tolls in the province.<\/p>\n<p>Critics have slammed government&#8217;s insistence on continuing with the system, with civil group Outa maintaining that it has failed, and there&#8217;s no way to force drivers to accept the system, so other solutions need to be found.<\/p>\n<p>Justice Project South Africa, meanwhile, has flagged various problems around the Aarto Act itself, including the fact that the Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA) &#8211; which will purportedly be managing things like e-toll fines and the blocking of renewals &#8211; is facing <a href=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/motoring\/465958\/south-africas-new-driving-laws-have-just-hit-a-serious-road-block-analyst\/\">forensic investigations over maladministration<\/a>.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>Read: <a href=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/motoring\/469010\/major-changes-planned-for-drivers-in-south-africa-including-new-fines-scrapping-taxis-and-an-answer-on-e-tolls\/\">Major changes planned for drivers in South Africa \u2013 including new fines, scrapping taxis, and an answer on e-tolls<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As government continues to drag its feet on providing a &#8220;solution&#8221; to the failed Gauteng e-tolling system, roads agency Sanral is gearing up for a new legal framework which could see motorists fined, or having licence renewals blocked if they don&#8217;t pay their outstanding fees.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":70473,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[5018,26],"class_list":["post-473594","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-government","tag-city-press","tag-headline"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473594","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=473594"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473594\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":473618,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473594\/revisions\/473618"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70473"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=473594"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=473594"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=473594"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}