1

Traffic Jam is born

For some time now, JPSA has been sending out frequent but unscheduled updates to its mem-

bers and other interested parties. Although this practice will naturally continue due to the

nature of what we do and the rapid developments in the sphere of traffic law enforcement

and road safety issues associated with it, we are formalizing a quarterly publication of general

interest to all concerned.

We will keep you up to date with developments on AARTO and other traffic legislation as well

as the activities of JPSA, which is constantly striving to ensure that the abusive practices of the

past and present are halted and that traffic law enforcement becomes fair, equitable and

achieves the mandate that it is supposed to—ensuring compliance and saving lives, rather

than simply making traffic authorities and their employees and business partners stinking rich.

This first issue contains no advertisements but should you wish to advertise in any of our forth-

coming issues, please give us a shout. Our publications reach a subscriber list of over 1,000

readers and we estimate that each recipient forwards them to at least 5 other people each

time we send one out. The main thing is that everyone who gets them, reads them inside out!

We welcome your suggestions on topics for articles you would like to see in future issues,

along with your letters and we will even publish your own articles should you wish to write one

for us. Simply email these to info@jp-sa.org.

We hope you enjoy reading this publication and that you get something useful out of doing so.

in this issue

The Hot Seat P.2 eTags– The modern day dompas P.3

Sell your house—you’ve got fines! P.4 Bylaw enforcement P.5

The descent into a police state P. 6 Shoulder lane driving P.7

The Constitution Under Attack P.8 Legislative Challenges P.9 The root of all evil... P.10

AARTO UPDATE So, it was officially announced that

AARTO will not be rolled out on 1

April 2012 as previously threatened.

So what’s this mean? Well, in all

honesty it’s doubtful that it will hap-

pen in the 12 months ahead either.

Why not? Simply put, there’s just

too much that needs to happen first;

from legislative changes to training

and other preparedness issues; and

as much as many role-players like to

say that they are ready to roll out

AARTO in their areas, the fact is that

even the JMPD and TMPD have not

got it right yet. Nor has the RTIA.

Then there’s the little matter of how

the JMPD has been ignoring many

provisions of the Act for ages now,

with the full knowledge of the RTIA.

And as for the AARTO summit that

was supposed to take place in June

2011, that has now been cancelled.

So, the next time you get an email

saying that the points-demerit sys-

tem came into play at midnight on

Tuesday, hit the delete button

please!

Traffic Jam The Newsletter from Justice Project South Africa

Issue 1 of 2012—Published 12 April 2012

2

The Hot Seat—Chairman’s Update

It would seem that when the going

gets tough, the tough get stupid .

When Japh Chuwe took over the

reins at the RTIA in 2010, after Col-

lins Letsoalo swept through the

RTMC and seized the control from

anyone appointed by the crooked

Ranthoko Rakgoale, the previously

well oiled RTIA AARTO machine

came to all but a grinding halt.

Whereas from July 2008 through

January 2010, the RTIA generally

escalated unpaid infringement notic-

es to courtesy letters and then to

enforcement orders as the Act pre-

scribed, it now only goes as far as

courtesy letters.

Add to this that a many unpaid in-

fringement notices from 2008 on-

wards have still not been escalated

beyond infringement notices and is

it any wonder that people continue

to ignore them?

Chuwe’s solution? Contract debt

collectors to hound people and

threaten them with escalation to

enforcement orders, warrants of

execution and blacklisting with cred-

it bureaus.

Amongst the “debts” these bottom

feeders are chasing are fines from

2010 starting with 02-4099 where

the infringement notices were inde-

cipherable and Gerrie Gerneke of

the JMPD falsely stated to the media

that they would all be cancelled.

So much for the word of Gerrie

Gerneke and so much for the com-

petence and professional, judicial

ethics of Japh Chuwe and the RTIA.

2012 is only a quarter way done and al-

ready, much has happened. From the leaked

announcement that AARTO will be rolled out

nationwide by 1 April 2012 and the subse-

quent retraction thereof to formal criminal

charges finally being brought against TMPD

deputy chief Ndumiso Jaca, there simply

hasn’t been a dull moment.

Coupled with this is the fact that the compli-

ant laid by JPSA against the JMPD/RTIA/

RTMC with the Public Protector relating to

the unlawful posting of AARTO infringement

notices has finally kicked into gear, but is still

not finalized.

And then there’s the Gauteng eTolling (or

the modern day “dompas” as I prefer to call

it) that has been announced to be coming

into effect from 30 April 2012.

So, with a start like this to the year, what can

we expect from the rest of 2012? Well, in my

opinion, we are in for a very exciting year

indeed and there are going to be a whole lot

of scraps in-between.

JPSA and I were amongst the most vocal

when it came to the garbage that emanated

from the Minister of Transport and his co-

hort, Collins Letsoalo during the latter part

of last year.

From the talk of lowering the speed limits

applicable on national freeways to threats of

immediate seizure, suspension and cancella-

tion of people’s driving licenses at the road-

side, these two really went overboard with

their pious and impractical threats over the

festive season.

Then in February, it was revealed that the

RTMC is “technically insolvent” and Ashref

Ismail announced on 702/Cape Talk that the

Acting CEO, Collins Letsoalo is also the

“acting board” of the RTMC. How exactly

does that work, pray tell?

That being what it may, Ismail then went on

to say that criminal charges had been

brought against former CEO, Ranthoko Rak-

goale and “other RTMC staff in early 2011”

but when I challenged him on this and asked

for the case numbers, all hell broke loose.

The next day anonymous callers launched

multiple personal attacks on my character in

a desperate bid to silence me, but that has

had little or no effect.

I am acutely aware that when you stand up

to the bullies in their playground, you cannot

reasonably expect to come out of it without

a blood nose or two and I will take their

punches on the nose in my stride. After all,

anyone can make anonymous statements

about anyone or anything and in doing so,

demean their own credibility. At least I have

the guts to use my real name, not so?

Even when people like Japh Chuwe choose

to state in writing and on national television

that my objections to debt collectors being

engaged by the RTIA comes from my “lack of

understanding of the Act”, I don't mind

much, given the fact that my statements are

backed up by legislation while his come from

his desperation to cover up his own Agency’s

inefficiencies and bring in funds for the RTIA.

It is sad indeed that instead of fixing what is

wrong, these individuals choose to play the

man instead of the game. If and when they

come to understand that doing things the

right way the first time around is the only

way to not give people ammunition to criti-

cize them, then things may improve.

Until then, it’s not reasonable to expect peo-

ple like me to shut up, is it?

“When you stand up to the bullies in their playground, you cannot rea-

sonably expect to come out of it without a blood nose or two.”

Circumventing AARTO— Desperate measures for desperate times?

3

In his budget speech, finance minister Pravin

Gordhan proudly announced that govern-

ment had decided to meet Gauteng citizens

“half way” on the eTolling issue by allocating

R5.8 billion to the R20 odd billion debt that

SANRAL had incurred in the Gauteng Free-

way Improvement Project. (GFIP)

He also announced that the tolling fee appli-

cable would be 30c/km for cars with a

monthly cap of R550 a month per car.

The tumultuous applause which resulted in

Parliament came from those least likely to

be adversely affected by these tolls—the

ministers and MP’s that don't pay their own

travel expenses anyway—you and I do!

When his announcement was met with con-

tempt by civic groups and COSATU alike, he

said “the decision has been made; let’s not

turn this into an adversarial relationship”.

Then Jimmy Manyi climbed on the band

wagon, saying “you had better buy an eTag

and register with SANRAL or you will face

the full might of the law”. What law?

The threats came in the awesome absence

of any legislation to do with Open Road

Tolling and the eTag method of collecting

thereon and shows just how completely out

of touch our government and State Owned

Companies are with both, reality and the

financial situations of SA’s citizens.

Then came the bombshell draft legislation

published on 27 March, giving just 20 days

for comments to be submitted. This legisla-

tion seeks to grant SANRAL employees

search and seizure powers without warrant,

in direct conflict with the Constitution.

JPSA will be submitting comments on behalf

of its members and will publish these online

for all to see. In the meantime, OUTA is pro-

ceeding with a court challenge of the entire

eTolling debacle and if their founding affida-

vit is anything to go by, they will succeed!

The eTolling issue has been met with such

strong opposition that this may in fact turn

into the final straw that broke the camel’s

back and turns hard-working, citizens into a

riotous mob of brick hurlers if it’s not

stopped. Time will tell.

But then again, what’s going to happen to

the R17 billion invested in it by the Govern-

ment Pension Fund?

The impact of eTolling on the poor

TOLL FEES Are they really what they appear to be?

So, government has heard the pleas

of the embattled Gauteng road users

and has kindly slashed the rate from

40c to 30c per kilometer. Hooray!

But guess what? The SANRAL Terms

and Conditions which go along with

the eTag clearly state that the toll

charges are not calculated per kilo-

meter, but on a per gantry basis.

That’s exactly why SANRAL needs to

provide an online eToll calculator

and exactly why you cannot calcu-

late your expenses without it!

DID YOU KNOW? Exemptions are limited.

Registered public transport vehicles

like buses and minibus taxis are

exempt from the eTolls and so they

should be. But it’s just during peak

times we’re told, not weekends, etc.

And what about emergency vehicles

like ambulances & fire engines? Well

they, like you and me, are expected

to pay the tolls. So, either emergen-

cy vehicles will have to take alterna-

tive routes to get to you if you are in

a crash, or the cost of the tolls will

have to be passed onto you if they

come to rescue you!

The ordinary motorist will have to fork out a maximum of R550 a month (for now)

when/if tolling comes into effect on 30 April 2012. There are some who can easily

afford this added expense and there are droves who simply cannot.

But here’s the clincher—these caps do not apply to the heavy land transportation vehi-

cles which transport commodities such as bread, milk and other foodstuffs to the

stores that you and I buy them from.

If anyone thinks that transport and logistics companies are simply going to absorb the-

se added costs, then they are sorely mistaken. Indeed, these costs have to be passed

onto the consumer and thereby, everyone, rich and poor alike, in all provinces will pay.

One also has to wonder if, like Eskom, SANRAL will simply increase the toll rates by

astronomic proportions each year. After all, when they have you locked into an eTag, as

is planned, how will you be able to stop them going mad with your money?

eTags—The Modern Day, Electronic Dompas

4

Sell your house—you have traffic fines to pay! On 4 April 2012, all hell broke loose when

people who had made representation on

their infringement notices (delivered by ordi-

nary post) suddenly started getting AARTO

09 results of representation stating that they

must now pay fines of 100 times the original

fine amount or elect to be tried in court.

This caused widespread with those who re-

ceived these erroneous documents and their

fears were not allayed when some of them

called the RTMC call centre to ask what this

was all about.

Wendy Alberts, CEO of the Restaurant Asso-

ciation was one such person and when she

called in, she was told that she must pay the

3 R50 000 fines or she would be arrested.

Sherman Amos, deputy registrar of the RTIA

was made aware of this anomaly and quickly

got onto the case. His explanation to the

media was that the JMPD had “upgraded” its

software and in doing so the fine amounts

were now being represented in cents instead

of Rands.

That may well be, but the question must be

asked why this software was not tested be-

fore being used in a live environment? It was

reported that this error affected some

50 000 AARTO 09 documents and that too

bears testimony to two things. Firstly, that a

large number of people will be getting the

shock of their life, but secondly and more

importantly, that the JMPD rejects a huge

amount of representations. All of them to be

more accurate.

The software story is a seemingly reasonable

explanation, but how do you explain the

actions of the call centre staff who told Wen-

dy’s PA to cough up, or risk arrest?

AARTO makes no provision for arrest for

outstanding traffic fines and anyone sug-

gesting that someone will be arrested for

not paying is an act of extortion.

Then there’s what the JMPD staff are saying

to people who choose to elect to be tried in

court. They’re telling people “these fines

will not go away and the courts will nail you,

so just pay”.

They are furthermore refusing to accept

AARTO 10 election to be tried in court forms

and this is a violation of the Constitutional

right everyone has to be tried by a compe-

tent court.

The problem is that the JMPD, and more

recently, the RTIA have become used to vio-

lating the AARTO Act and all legislation that

exists in South Africa, in favor of acting as

issuer, judge, jury and executioner.

Their perversion of legislation and abuse of

their powers has reached an all-time high

and things are getting worse, not better.

You can only hold your breath and see how

next they decide to abuse people, and it

would be very presumptuous to say that this

screw-up will bring an end to their abuse.

EXTORTION PERFECTED Rejected representations a standard

The JMPD has been allowed to per-

vert the course of Administrative

Justice by running its own AARTO

representations office, staffed by

nothing more than admin staff.

The AARTO Act lays down legal qual-

ifications representations officers

must possess but Gerrie Gerneke

doesn't care about that.

In December 2011, he transferred

the public prosecutors previously

tasked with handling representa-

tions and brought in a crew of com-

puter operators from MVS Phumele-

lo to summarily reject all representa-

tions made to the JMPD.

COURT—THE BEST CHOICE When Administrative Justice is Failing

When you receive an AARTO 09

rejecting your representation, don’t

be scared into paying the fine in-

stead of electing to be tried in

court!

Our courts are amongst the few

functional public institutions left

and you should never be scared to

have your day in court. Remember

always; authorities must follow the

prescripts of the law, just like you

have to.

Wendy Alberts received an AARTO

09 stating that her representation

for her fine that she took the 50%

discount on was rejected and she

must now pay R50 000, not the ex-

tra R250 of the R500 fine.

5

Bylaw enforcement. In February 2012, the JMPD bylaw manage-

ment unit (BMU), in conjunction with SAPS,

swooped on trendy Parkhurst restaurants

and suddenly started impounding tables

which were on the pavements.

This came as a shock to restaurant owners

and diners alike, with some diners who got

the hell in with them ending up being arrest-

ed, detained and charged with “interfering

with police in the execution of their duties”.

The charges were later withdrawn by the

public prosecutor.

Restaurateurs had to pay fines and impound

fees to get their tables back and were an-

noyed by the way in which their patrons

were treated, but in all honesty had they not

blocked pavements with their tables, this

would never have happened.

Then came the next shock for Parkhurst,

where all of a sudden, parking marshals de-

scended on the suburb and started demand-

ing parking fees from motorists parking their

cars there.

Like happened in Braamfontein, motorists

and business owners alike were up in arms

about this and when the furore broke, sud-

denly the JMPD’s Wayne Minnaar came out

saying that this was a “marketing exercise”.

Ace Parking Solutions, a company that has

been contracted by the JMPD to implement

metered parking in prime parking spots pro-

vides these parking marshals and in return

gets paid 75% of every rand collected.

There can be no argument that bylaws exist

and should be enforced, but it is astounding

how the JMPD chooses to enforce some and

not others and it is also astounding how they

do so without so much as warning the public

and business owners alike that they are go-

ing to do so now.

Whilst they implement parking charges in

busy areas and impound tables, the JMPD

leave the multitudes of window washers,

beggars and hawkers to run riot in traffic,

often intimidating motorists.

Then there is the little matter of when mo-

torists are fined for not paying parking fees,

this happens on a section 341 notice, in vio-

lation of the AARTO Act… (see alongside)

A voice of reason...

PARKING TICKETS AARTO Applies to the JMPD

AARTO was proclaimed to be in

force in the operational area of the

JMPD with effect from 1 November

2009 and from that date, all infringe-

ment notices, including parking tick-

ets have to be issued in accordance

with the Act.

But the JMPD has chosen to ignore

this when it comes to parking tickets

and instead, they issue them in

terms of section 341 of the Criminal

Procedure Act. You should not pay

these and can approach a public

prosecutor to have them withdrawn.

All unattended infringements must

be cited on an AARTO 31 notice!

GOT A BYLAW ISSUE? Who should you contact?

If you have a bylaw issue like noisy

taverns or window washers in inter-

sections, don’t just leave it, report it.

The head of the JMPD BMU is Direc-

tor Isaac Sipho Dlepu and he can be

contacted on (011) 490 1630. Alter-

natively, you can contact Harold

Maile on (011) 490 1707.

Take a stand against bylaw violations

and report them!

Not every law is made to simply annoy people and/or generate revenues and some

have very good reasoning behind them. Placing dining tables on a pavement, which is

actually a walkway for pedestrians, in such a way as to cause them to have to walk on

the roadway instead is inconsiderate at best and downright dangerous at worst. It is

also stealing from public coffers as no rent is paid for this space.

Parking fees are commonplace in every major metropolitan area in the world and in

many cases, metered parking is designed not only to generate an income for the City,

but more importantly, to control the length of time that a vehicle occupies a parking

bay. Where parking is free and unmetered in busy areas, those looking for a parking

can’t get one because many motorists “abandon” their vehicles in a parking bay for the

entire day.

So, the next time you lose it because of bylaw enforcement taking place, think what

you would do if it was you who couldn't park or had to dodge tables on a sidewalk.

6

JPSA Membership

Membership of JPSA is open to any

person who has a valid means of iden-

tification and wishes to become a

member.

Membership fees can be paid month-

ly by debit order or annually up front.

Members enjoy the benefits of be-

longing to JPSA, which includes access

to expert assistance in traffic law

matters as well as access to our Priori-

ty Assist service—for a small addition-

al monthly fee.

To join JPSA simply visit our website

at www.jp-sa.org and sign up.

SA’s Descent into a Police State

The article to the left appeared on the Joburg web-

site on 5 April 2012 and clearly shows why we are

experiencing such abuse in law enforcement at the

moment.

Wayne Minnaar holds the rank of Chief Superinten-

dent and should know the law and his job much

better than to make statements like so and so is

“punishable with arrest”.

Arrest is not intended to be a form of punishment;

it is intended to be a means to ensure that an ac-

cused person is brought before the courts.

But it is quite clearly asking way too much for the

likes of any so-called law enforcement official who

has become used to abusing people to understand

their place in the criminal justice system.

The role of law enforcement authorities is to en-

force the law by ensuring compliance through de-

tecting non-compliance and bringing offenders to

book—whether through fining them where this is

prescribed or bringing them before a court in more

serious cases. If such senior ranking officials as a Chief Superintendent believe that their mandate extends to punishing offenders by ar-

resting them, then this can only be described as a decent into a Police State where the courts have no value in the criminal justice system

and the Police get to punish alleged offenders at will, regardless of whether they get a fair trial or not or whether it is proven in court that

they are guilty or not. If we allow this, we are doomed.

The Cancer of Corruption

Corruption is on the increase, particularly

in law enforcement agencies and especially

in the metro’s.

Sexual harassment has also become a big

problem for females travelling on their own

and men also experience physical abuse.

Each time that anyone pays a bribe, the

cancer of corruption spreads and worse

consequences result.

If you are ever asked for a bribe or sexually

harassed by a cop, report it immediately

and never, never pay a bribe.

If you give in and pay, you simply fuel the

fire and make it worth their while.

Did you know?

You are required by law to carry your

driving licence with you at all times

when driving.

If you are stopped and you don't have

it with you, the authority concerned

can issue you with a fine of R1,250 for

driving without possessing a driving

licence, with an alternative fine of

R500 for failing to carry your driving

licence.

If this happens to you, you must com-

plete an AARTO 08 representation

providing proof that you have a valid

driving licence or the fine will remain

R1250. (Applicable to AARTO)

You have the right to remain silent— If you are ever arrested by police or traffic officials, please remember that you have the right to

remain silent, have legal representation and be treated with human dignity amongst a host of other things. Do not, under any circum-

stances take legal advice given to you by police or prosecutors; especially if they try to coerce you into paying an admission of guilt fine.

Get competent representation and don't believe that your family lawyer is always capable of dealing with criminal matters. JPSA members

with Priority Assist have access to competent advice and response services and, if needs be, referral to competent criminal attorneys.

7

Shoulder lane driving... On 15 March 2012, scores of people were

arrested for driving in the shoulder lane on

Beyers Naude Drive at the intersection of

Malope Road.

After being made to wait a half an hour or so

while the JMPD attained a quota of 50 peo-

ple or so, the arrested were taken to Honey-

dew Police Station.

These motorists were then detained for al-

most 4 hours before effectively being forced

to pay R1000 admission of guilt fines. Few, if

any, were taxi drivers—they were mostly

moms taking their kids to school! That there

were few taxi drivers in this lot is in itself a

testament to the fact that people have

learned to copy taxi drivers —moms too!

The law states that you may not drive on the

shoulder (emergency) lane or verge of the

road unless the road you are on only caters

for a single lane of traffic in each direction

and you are turning left. Anyone who sits in

gridlock traffic and abides by this law usually

get’s really angry when other motorists

come whizzing past them and many would

be tempted to say “I am glad these people

were arrested”, but that is no reason to

sanction unlawful punishment, is it?

AARTO was proclaimed as being in force

with effect from 1 November 2008 in the

jurisdiction of the JMPD. This Act has some-

thing called “Schedule 3”, wherein every

traffic violation you may be charged with is

contained.

Charge code 5006 reads “Being the driver of

a vehicle, passed another vehicle proceeding

in the same direction on that road on the left

by driving on the shoulder or verge of the

road - Reg. 298(1)”. This charge is classified

as an infringement for which arrest is not

allowed. It carries a fine of R1000, which

under AARTO is discounted by 50% if it is

paid within 32 days.

In this case, a fine is prescribed and if you

feel that the JMPD were entitled to discard

this requirement and arrest these people

instead, then you are saying that the actions

of the Vaalwater cop who kicked the living

daylights out of the youth that he arrested

were okay by you too.

Laws are written for a reason and everyone,

including the law enforcement authorities

must abide by their provisions. If a particular

violation prescribes a fine, then it is a fine

that should be issued. If it prescribes a court

appearance, then that is what must happen.

The second that cops get to decide what

your punishment should be, there is a prob-

lem. Arrest is supposed to be for the purpose

of investigation/securing your attendance in

court and NOT a means to punish you or

force you to pay an admission of guilt fine!

We also have to remember that in this par-

ticular case, young school children were also

detained with their mothers and this breeds

fear of the Police.

INCONSIDERATE DRIVING It’s just not right

Inconsiderate driving is a charge that

covers a wide range of actions that a

driver can commit and would be

considered inconsiderate to others.

For a long time, this charge was used

as an alternative criminal charge to

reckless or negligent driving because

it is easier to prove.

But with the inception of AARTO, it

was classified as a very minor in-

fringement with a fine of R250.

Why then is it that the JMPD feel

that they can arrest people and

charge them with this non-crime?

The Police should know and abide

by the law to earn respect.

INSTANT “JUSTICE” Judge, Jury & Executioner

When one thinks of vigilantes, it’s

not usual to associate them with

uniformed police.

On 14 March 2012 a video of an

assault that took place on 24 Nov

2011 appeared and suddenly, after

going viral, Warrant Officer Petrus

Lefoka got suspended and charged

with assault. That it took so long to

happen is very sad indeed.

19-year old Norman Mokau gets

kicked senseless by Warrant Officer

Petrus Lefoka of Vaalwater SAPS.

If you haven’t done so already,

watch the full video at:

http://youtu.be/_PI73_Z1uPc

8

Speak up now or forever be abused!

Ask yourself a simple question.

“What do I know about the Constitu-

tion of my country?”

If your truthful answer is “little or

nothing” then, don’t beat yourself

up, but make a concerted effort to

visit www.wethepeople.org.za and

download and read the Constitution.

It’s not only your right, but your re-

sponsibility to know what the Con-

stitution says and what protection it

affords you! Ignorance is not bliss.

When South Africa’s Constitution was enact-

ed in 1996, it was hailed to be one of the

most advanced Constitutions in the world.

Since then, it has undergone 16 amend-

ments in its 16 years of existence, the most

recent of which was in 2009.

Another famous Constitution is that of the

United States of America, which incidentally

is known inside out by almost every Ameri-

can, despite the fact that the vast majority

of Americans are oblivious to much else

around them.

Enacted in 1787, the US Constitution has

undergone a grand total of 27 amendments

over its over 224 years of existence, the lat-

est of which was in 1992.

But now it would seem that some have de-

cided that our Constitution is no longer rele-

vant to South Africa and it has been an-

nounced that it needs to be changed. Not

amended again—changed in totality and

that is where one has got to hear the warn-

ing bells ringing.

They have also said that “Constitutions are

living documents reflecting the stage of de-

velopment of a given society” and whilst this

is most certainly true to some extent, there

is a huge difference between amending the

Constitution to modernize certain provisions

and changing it in its entirety to suit one’s

own political objectives.

Patrick Henry said: “The Constitution is not

an instrument of the Government to restrain

the people; it is an instrument of the people

to restrain the Government; Lest it come to

dominate our lives and interests.”

Indeed, the Constitution seems to have be-

come a thorn in the side of some people and

clearly, it makes perfect sense to get rid of

anything that hinders one’s aspirations to a

one-party-state and total control of citizens’

lives, like has become the case elsewhere on

this continent.

But what if our Constitution were to be

changed? Would you even know what our

current Constitution has in it and what it

means for and to you, as a citizen of this

country? Would you miss anything that gets

discarded anyway?

Shockingly, whilst the phrase “our Constitu-

tion” is bandied about left, right and centre,

very few South Africans know much about it

or the Bill of Rights. So the question must be

asked, if you know little or nothing about our

Constitution, what would you care if it was

changed?

The short answer is that although you may

not care what our current Constitution says,

you will definitely miss the rights and free-

doms it bestows on you when they are gone.

Take for example, the Protection of State

Information Bill which seeks to jail journal-

ists and others who expose corruption by

acquiring documents that prove this to be

so.

Then take your right to be presumed inno-

cent until proven guilty in a competent

court, and your right to appear before one

within 48 hours of arrest. If these go, you

could easily find yourself languishing without

trial in jail on the say so of no more than a

student policeman.

If you think that it’s not worth fighting for

the retention of the Constitution, then you

obviously haven’t read it and if you think you

can sit back and let others do the fighting for

you, you are honestly courting disaster.

Unrestrained government is very dangerous.

“South Africa has one of the most advanced Constitutions in the world,

but now that ‘our democracy’ is evolving’, some want to change it.”

Know the Constitution www.wethepeople.org.za

Testing Tolerance It’s been happening for ages

Anyone who thinks that the latest

proposal to change the Constitution

is a sudden whim is either a fool or

has been going about their life with

their eyes closed.

This has been coming from the day

that independence came about in

our nation and the current Constitu-

tion was, in fact a compromise

reached during negotiations.

Since 1994, many laws which violate

the Constitution have been passed

into law without challenge.

The presumptions of guilt under the

National Road Traffic Act and AARTO

are prime examples of this and have

clearly demonstrated to government

that we, the people don't care about

the Constitution.

JPSA has noticed these violations

and will not keep quiet about them

but we all need to speak up, don’t

we?

9

Legislative Challenges On 27 March 2012, the Department of

Transport published for comment, draft leg-

islation to deal with the enforcement of

eTolls by SANRAL and which seeks to grant

broad powers to SANRAL employees to

hound motorists using the so-called eRoads.

The time allocated for comment was 20

days, one third less time than is usually al-

lowed for this process and the reason is

quite clear. If they want this in place when

the planned tolling begins on 30 April, there

is no time to mess around with consultation

despite the fact that they’ve had more than

5 years to get legislation in place.

Amongst the provisions of this draft legisla-

tion is the ability of SANRAL employees to

stop, search and seize at any time without

warrant—a power not even granted to the

Hawks and is clearly unconstitutional!

Deputy Transport Minister, Jeremy Cronin

denied that this was so and threatened to

take eTV to the press ombudsman. He later

told the Beeld Newspaper that he had not

read the draft. One has to wonder what he

was thinking.

JPSA is submitting comments on this draft

legislation on behalf of its members, but will

this be enough to stop these unconstitution-

al provisions from being enacted? Quite

frankly, it’s doubtful given the fact that the

Transport Department generally does what

it pleases and has no regard for the Constitu-

tion. It is far more likely that this will have to

be challenged in the Constitutional Court—a

very costly and time-consuming exercise

which government counts on being so to

stifle most challenges against its virulent

lawmaking tendencies.

Another court challenge on the cards is that

of OUTA (Opposition to Urban Tolling Alli-

ance) being brought by SAVRALA and other

interested parties with respect to eTolling.

Their founding affidavit (166 pages) is so

strong that it’s highly unlikely that it will

achieve anything short of a total halt to this

eTolling nonsense.

But how sad is it that civic organizations—

particularly those like JPSA have to be forced

to invest millions in court challenges be-

cause government simply refuses to listen or

even speak with us? SAVRALA may have the

money to bring these matters to court but

JPSA certainly doesn't! Yes, we have legal

professionals who are prepared to act on

our behalf but we simply don't have the se-

curity for costs that courts demand before

they will hear your case.

Sadly, access to the higher courts of this

country is a privilege of only the very rich -

no matter how good your argument is and

no matter whether it is for the good of the

people or not.

When approaches to government meet with

snubbing and contempt, they then classify

you as being anti-government, simply be-

cause they refuse to talk to you. It’s bizarre!

PRESUMPTION OF GUILT Yes, you heard right

The National Road Traffic, AARTO

and SANRAL Acts all say that the

registered owner of a vehicle will be

presumed to have been the driver in

the absence of proof to the contrary.

When it comes to camera fines, this

is extended to you having to provide

proof that it was not you or your

vehicle that was photographed

speeding.

Photographs are almost always tak-

en of the rear of a vehicle, thus

effectively paralyzing you from iden-

tifying the driver in a photo—if in-

deed it was your vehicle and not a

clone or one using false plates.

SEIZURE OF DOCUMENTS Forcing lawlessness upon you

One of the draft provisions pro-

posed is to allow SANRAL employ-

ees to seize your driving licence,

operator card and licence disc if

they deem it fitting to do so.

If this happens and you subsequent-

ly drive, then you will effectively be

guilty of an offence in terms of the

National Road Traffic Act—brought

upon you by an employee of

SANRAL. In other words, they will

A vehicle with a GVM over 3,500kg

without an operator card is subject

to a R1000 fine and can be im-

pounded as it would be considered

to be unroadworthy. If this card is

seized, this could easily happen.

10

About JPSA

Justice Project South Africa (JPSA) is

a non-profit company (organization)

that was established to fight corrup-

tion and abusive law enforcement,

particularly in the field of traffic.

Our motto is “Evil can only triumph

where good men and women do

nothing” and this has, and continues

to prove itself true over and again.

To say that we are disliked by some

very powerful people is an under-

statement, however this is no rea-

son for us to back down and we con-

tinue to achieve our mandate as

time progresses.

Traffic Jam Issue 1 of 2012—Published April 2012

Impact, not speed as is claimed kills, but is that a reason for traffic law enforcement agencies to concentrate nearly 99% (98.94%) of

their efforts on camera speed trapping? Is the importance of collecting fine revenues enough to justify setting up daily roadblocks on

major routes in peak hour traffic? And is it so important to maximize revenue that R15 per postage item is saved in posting AARTO 03

infringement notices by ordinary post when the AARTO Act requires service by registered mail?

Is it not a sign of things to come when frequent and flagrant violations of legislation not only take place, but then get sanctioned by the

likes of the registrar of the RTIA, when he suddenly and out of the blue, changes his tune from saying that infringement notices sent by

ordinary mail are unlawful to “I am satisfied that by making a representation, the accused has acknowledged receipt”?

The root of all evil...

JUSTICE PROJECT SOUTH AFRICA (NPC)

500 Kyalami Boulevard, Kyalami Office Park

Kyalami, Midrand

012 753 6802 or 081 302 3694 tel

086 647 3293 fax

Join JPSA at www.jp-sa.org

It has been said that the root of all evil is the love of money and nowhere has this been more

apparent than in traffic law enforcement in South Africa. People die in their droves on our

country’s roads each year and each time you venture out onto our roads, you take your life in

your hands because reckless and lawless drivers are absolutely everywhere.

Why has this come about and why is the situation getting worse instead of improving? Simple,

because traffic law enforcement in South Africa is about little more than making money—not

just a little, but a lot of it.

Let’s just grow up and face it. If people obeyed speed limits, these infringement notices

would not be issued against them in the first place, but that is no excuse for so-called “law

enforcement agencies” to also break the law by not complying with the prescripts of the

applicable legislation and allowing them to do so is also allowing a Police State to evolve.

Only when law enforcement becomes about tackling the real issues of lawlessness on our roads that cause crashes, plus the focus of

generating revenues is discarded will we see any improvement in both, the death tolls on our roads and the driving experience that law-

abiding motorists encounter on a daily basis. For now however, it’s every person for themselves while various agencies and private busi-

nesses alike continue to profit from lawlessness. It is very sad indeed that the root of all evil continues to be allowed to drive traffic

“enforcement” in our country.

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