The City Press reported that ANC members of parliament were furious after they received e-toll bills from Sanral despite the fact that their cars were locked up and unused in Cape Town over the billing period.<\/p>\n
Ruth Bhengu, chairperson for the National Assembly portfolio committee on transport, blamed cloned number plates for the e-toll billing problem.<\/p>\n
It is not only MPs who have fallen victim to incorrect e-toll billing. Numerous road users have complained about incorrect e-toll bills, with some motorists who have never travelled on Gauteng\u2019s roads receiving large invoices from Sanral.<\/p>\n
Fake and cloned number plates are blamed for some of these incorrect billing, especially in cases where motorists did not travel on Gauteng freeways.<\/p>\n
Zurika Louw, CEO of the South African number plate association (SANA), said in an interview with ENCA that cloning a number plate is very easy.<\/p>\n
According to Louw anyone can purchase the materials needed to clone a plastic number plate at a hardware store or a sign shop. \u201cIf you have a computer and a printer, you can make a number plate,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Louw said that cloning an aluminium number plate is far more difficult and needs special equipment.<\/p>\n
However, a lack of regulation in South Africa on number plates make it easy for criminals and illegal number plate outlets to create cloned plates.<\/p>\n
Bhengu said that they are now looking at a system where it will be far more difficult to clone number plates.<\/p>\n
City Press quotes Bhengu as saying that they are looking at a special process \u201cwhere you verify that you are the owner of that car and no other car has that registration\u201d.<\/p>\n
E-tolls blamed for the rise in cloned plates<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Don\u2019t just listen to Sanral, Outa urges MPs<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n