JOHANNESBURG – The recent spate of outrageously high fine amounts (100 times the original penalty amount) on AARTO 09 results of representations originating from the JMPD when they summarily reject AARTO 08 representations has caused widespread panic and disbelief in the hearts of affected parties.

The explanation that has been offered by the JMPD through the RTIA’s deputy registrar, Mr Sherman Amos on the Midday Report on talk Radio 702 was that that this was caused by a “software upgrade” which has now caused the JMPD’s finances to be represented in cents. This explanation differs from the one given to the Times Newspaper which said that it was caused by the dropping of a decimal point. 

The example below is from an AARTO 09 received by someone in January 2012 and as can be clearly seen, there is no decimal or cents value on it.

The latest AARTO 09 documents have two extra zeros on them:

The question that must be asked is what possible reason could the JMPD or their contractors have had to change their accounting records and the references in these documents to cents, with a Rand symbol in front?  It is far more likely that this “error” was deliberate on the part of the JMPD and/or their contractors in order to scare people into going into their offices to query these things, rather than elect to be tried in court because the JMPD is now starting to haemorrhage money due to people wising up to the unlawfulness of the JMPD’s actions.  The RTIA should also not be making excuses for the JMPD if they are not prepared to compel them to obey the law and are going to allow them to appoint unqualified representation officers.

Additionally, a simple comment to the Beeld Newspaper stating that “motorists should not panic if they found themselves confronted with fines of, for example, R50,000 or R300,000” and a radio interview here and there is not good enough.  Of course people will panic!  It has taken almost two years for people to begin to wise up to the fact that sending AARTO 03 infringement notices by ordinary mail is contrary to the Act and a simple, small press article in one newspaper is simply not going to cut it.  The JMPD and RTIA should be forced to at the very least run full page adverts in all newspapers apologising to and reassuring motorists that this was an “error” if that is what it was.

The amount of affected parties – reportedly 50,000 in one batch is also cause for concern, given the fact that this would appear to represent a single month’s worth of representations rejected by the JMPD.  JPSA has also been told that people who are trying to hand in AARTO 10 election to be tried in court documents are being refused and told that they must pay “as these fines are not going to go away”.  If this is true, then the JMPD is violating people’s right under the Constitution to be tried in a competent court.

The JMPD is very good at making up excuses and pretending that they are blameless and a legitimate entity.  They seem to be under the impression that they can make up provisions as and when they wish to do so, and can discard the provisions of the AARTO Act to suit themselves.  From 1 June 2010 the JMPD began sending out infringement notices that they previously sent by registered mail in accordance with the Act by ordinary mail, thus negating the entire AARTO process.

The JMPD’s explanation for this has been that the AARTO Act does not specifically prohibit sending infringement notices by ordinary mail, however what they have neglected to note is that the Act says that they must be served by registered mail.  A complaint was lodged with the Public Protector by JPSA on 17 June 2011, after all other avenues to get the JMPD to act lawfully failed.  This has still not resulted in the resolution of this anomaly.

In December 2011, the JMPD suddenly contracted a large number of individuals to summarily reject representations and advise people to either pay the fines or elect to be tried in court.  We have been informed that elections to be tried in court are not

being accepted by the JMPD and they are informing people that they have to pay the fines as a court will not listen to them.  This is a violation of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa and the right of every accused person to:

• Be presumed innocent until proven guilty by a court, and
• Be subjected to administrative justice which is “administrative action that is lawful, reasonable and procedurally fair” which is most certainly not the case with respect to how the JMPD is acting as police, judge, jury and executioner.

The JMPD is clearly under the impression that they:

• May presume that people they accuse are guilty until they prove themselves innocent, and
• The JMPD is not obliged to comply with the prescripts of legislation passed into law in South Africa.

JPSA advises all motorists who make representations and have them rejected to immediately exercise their rights under the constitution and elect to be tried in a competent court, which don’t employ administration clerks who know nothing of the law to do their dirty work for them.  If the JMPD attempts to refuse you this right, then insist that they accept your election and do not take no for an answer.

Howard Dembovsky may be contacted for further comment.

JOHANNESBURG – It was with surprise that JPSA and the Automobile Association of South Africa read an article which appeared in the Beeld Newspaper of Tuesday 1 February 2012 entitled “Dok op of gaan na hof” (cough up or go to court), referring to the service of AARTO infringement notices sent by ordinary mail by the JMPD.  We have subsequently obtained the additional letters referred to in this article and they have reference.

As has been widely reported, JPSA laid an official complaint with the office of the Public Protector in Pretoria (complaint reference: 40832/11) in June 2011, after numerous attempts to address the matter through the JMPD, RTMC and RTIA failed, despite the then acting Registrar of the RTIA repeatedly stating in the media, in radio interviews and in writing that the service of AARTO 03 infringement notices by ordinary mail was NOT lawful.

On 11 January 2011, the then Acting and now fully appointed Registrar of the Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA), Mr Japh Chuwe wrote to the JMPD “requesting” that they cease sending out infringement notices by ordinary mail in contravention of Section 30(1) of the AARTO Amendment Act. This “request” was summarily ignored – as happens when requests are made.

In the same letter, Mr Japh Chuwe also instructed as follows: “You are furthermore advised that in cases where representation applications are received in respect of infringement notices served by ordinary mail, those infringement notices must be withdrawn and such representations made successful. In relation to those infringement notices referring to juristic persons, the owners of those vehicles in question cannot be requested to identify or nominate drivers as the initial notices were not properly served as prescribed by the Act.”

In his letter to van der Westhuizen Attorneys dated 31 January 2012, Mr Chuwe stated “My letter as referenced by you to the Chief of the JMPD dated 11 January 2011 was and is not intended for public consumption…” and “…the individual infringers de facto received the relevant infringement notices albeit through ordinary mail (caused to be served) and through representations made by them as provided for in the Act, acknowledged receipt thereof and are therefore liable.”

These statements openly display the fact that Mr Chuwe has acknowledged that he was the author of the letter to the JMPD – which he further intended to keep secret, as well as proving beyond any reasonable doubt that he has actively engaged in an act of entrapment by repeatedly and publicly stating that alleged infringers may “make representation on an AARTO 08 form if they receive infringement notices by ordinary mail.”   This “advice” was also offered by him in writing in September 2010 in his response letter to JPSA’s complaint!

It therefore appears that Mr Chuwe has now made a complete turn-around on what he has previously said and put in writing, including but not limited to his letter to JPSA and subsequent letter to the JMPD; seemingly in active support and defence of the unlawfulness of the JMPD’s patently obvious unlawful actions.  Both the AA and JPSA view his latest action as patently dishonest and contrary to his mandate to ensure that AARTO is applied in a fair and equitable manner and JPSA hereby calls for his immediate sanction for engaging in such blatantly dishonourable practices.

JPSA has furthermore been informed that the meeting that was scheduled to take place between the Public Protector and the JMPD, RTMC and RTIA on Friday 27 January 2012 was summarily cancelled by the City of Johannesburg on Thursday 26 January and that a commitment to respond in writing by Monday 6 February was made.

Whilst JPSA understands that the office of the Public Protector has to remain reasonable in accepting “alternative offers” by the respondents in this matter with respect to meeting dates etc., and we are not in the least bit surprised that the JMPD has shown gross disrespect for the seriousness of this matter by cancelling a meeting a mere 24 hours before it was scheduled to take place – when this meeting was scheduled nearly two weeks prior to that date; we believe that this action simply goes to further display the total lack of respect that the JMPD has for anyone or anything other than themselves.

Over the past week and a half, JPSA has been inundated with queries from members of the public who, after previously receiving successful results on representations citing Section 30(1) of the AARTO Amendment Act have now received AARTO 09 results rejecting their representation and advising them to elect to be tried in court.  As stated in our release of Friday 20 January 2012, entitled “JMPD – ISSUER, JUDGE, JURY & EXECUTIONER”, JPSA was aware that this would probably happen due to an instruction given by Director Gerrie Gerneke in late December 2011.

JPSA and the AA wish to advise motorists who receive such responses to exercise their legal right to subsequently elect to be tried in court and not to succumb to this blatant attempt to defeat the ends of administrative justice, which is clearly designed to get them to pay unlawfully served AARTO 03 infringement notices.  We sincerely doubt that any Public Prosecutor would risk rebuke by a Magistrate by placing any such matter on the court role when they are well aware that a Magistrate will have to act within the framework of the law and find in the favour of the alleged infringer, or risk judicial review.

It is also doubtful whether it would ever come to the alleged infringer even being issued and served with a summons to appear in court prior to the Public Protector making a final finding on this matter, given the fact that our complaint is now more than seven months old and we remain hopeful that the Public Protector will wrap this matter up without further undue delay.

JPSA, the AA and multiple other parties have continuously and repeatedly warned of the dangers of allowing an issuing authority to be issuer, judge, jury and executioner by appointing and employing adjudication officers under AARTO, especially in light of the fact that adjudication is supposed to be a fair and unbiased function of Administrative Justice, just as it would be in a conventional court.  It is now obvious that this travesty of justice has been extended to the JMPD additionally replacing parliament in making up its own provisions of legislation – now in full support and cooperation by the RTIA conspiring with them to justify their action.

The following individuals may be contacted for further information and further comment:
Gary Ronald – AA South Africa – 083 386 6954 – email gronald@aasa.co.za
Howard Dembovsky – 082 418 6210

Collateral available by downloading this zip file (860KB).

• Letter from Japh Chuwe to JPSA dated 1 September 2010. NOTE HIGHLIGHTED SECTION
• Letter from Japh Chuwe to the JMPD dated 11 January 2011. NOTE HIGHLIGHTED SECTIONS
• Letters from HJ van der Westhuizen Attorneys to RTIA dated 23 and 30 January 2012.
• Letter from Japh Chuwe to HJ van der Westhuizen Attorneys dated 31 January 2012, signed by the deputy registrar of the RTIA, Mr Sherman Amos. NOTE HIGHLIGHTED SECTIONS

Khulubuse Zuma, the nephew of President Jacob Zuma and Aurora Empowerment Systems boss, has been arrested and tried for speeding in Ballito after his silver, convertible Maserati, was clocked at 181km/h.

Zuma, who is also chairman of the embattled gold mining company Aurora Empowerment Systems, was apprehended by Road Traffic Inspectorate officials in Ballito, on the KZN North Coast on January 9.

He was believed to have been in the company of his mother at the time.

He was arrested and taken to the Umhlali police station on January 9. The following day he appeared in the Umhlali Magistrate’s Court where he pleaded guilty and was handed a R3 000 fine.

According to police and RTI sources the vehicle was registered to Viglietti Motors in Cape Town. Manager Gareth Crossley said he could not confirm if the car had been loaned to Zuma or if he was a client.

“I cannot say anything. If we loaned him the car or if he is a prospective buyer is confidential,” said Crossley.

KZN police spokesman Captain Thulani Zwane confirmed the case. – IOL Staff Reporter

JPSA Responds

During December 2011, Transport Minister Sibusiso Ndebele stated that "all motorists arrested for traffic offences must have their driving licenses seized and suspended/cancelled." Collins Letsoalo, acting CEO of the RTMC was very quick to jump on the bandwagon, stating that section 25(1)(b) of the National Road Traffic Act gives him the power to do this. Several reports citing tens of thousands of driving licence suspensions/cancellations then also followed.

Now it emerges that Khulubuse Zuma has pleaded guilty to driving at 181km/h in an undefined speed limit zone. At best, he would have been 61km/h over the speed limit -at worst 141km/h since Ballito has speed limits of 40km/h. Either way, since 20 November 2010, it has been law that anyone exceeding the speed limit in an urban area by more than 30km/h and outside an urban area by more than 40km/h must have their driving licence suspended by the court unless mitigating circumstances of considerable proportion are found.

So here we have a man who, by merely bearing a favourable surname is sentenced to a R3000 fine and has no other consequences imposed on him when other motorists have had fines of five times that imposed on them and have had their driving licenses suspended. This incident happened on 9 January 2012 and once again, Sibusiso Ndebele, despite launching his tirades about how lawlessness on our roads has said absolutely nothing about this. No doubt he will once again say that people like us are "distracting public attention from the real road safety issues" when we say that making fish of one and fowl of the other sends the wrong message.

I personally, and many others like me, am sick to death of the Minister and his sidekick, Collins Letsoalo blowing smoke up everyone's behinds. In their opinions, "speed kills", but only if it is not their or their friends' vehicles involved!

Why it is that we as South Africans accept this kind of bull is completely beyond me. We must band together and demand that Ndebele and Letsoalo step down and that our Constitution is adhered to by giving every person equal treatment under the law. These two individuals are not Magistrates but they do have the power to ensure that the laws Ndebele enacts are adhered to by all involved. They simply don't seem to care, but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't, now does it?

With effect from 20 November 2010, the National Road Traffic Act demands that on conviction of certain offences, the driving licence of any person convicted of these offences shall be suspended for minimum periods. Amongst these offences are hit and run crashes, reckless or negligent driving, driving under the influence of alcohol and excessive speeding.  Since it came into play tens of thousands of driving licenses have been suspended and/or cancelled (according to the Department of Transport) but there have also been numerous cases where "high-profile" individuals have not suffered this fate. Consistency in application of the law is very important, however it is quite clear that the law in South Africa is being applied on a basis of who you are, not what you have done.

Below is Section 35 of the National Road Traffic Act and I certainly don't see any reference to exemptions under it - do you?

Authored and commented by Howard Dembovsky

JOHANNESBURG – Following the complaint lodged with the Public Protector on 16 June 2011 by JPSA and the ongoing saga surrounding the JMPD’s unlawful issue of AARTO 03 infringement notices since 1 June 2010, it has recently come to light that a new tactic is being employed by the JMPD to get people to pay unlawful fines.

On 11 January 2011, the then Acting and now fully appointed Registrar of the Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA), Mr Japh Chuwe wrote to the JMPD “requesting” that they cease sending out infringement notices by ordinary mail in contravention of Section 30(1) of the AARTO Amendment Act. This “request” was summarily ignored – as happens when requests are made.

In the same letter, Mr Japh Chuwe also instructed as follows: “You are furthermore advised that in cases where representation applications are received in respect of infringement notices served by ordinary mail, those infringement notices must be withdrawn and such representations made successful. In relation to those infringement notices referring to juristic persons, the owners of those vehicles in question cannot be requested to identify or nominate drivers as the initial notices were not properly served as prescribed by the Act.”

It has emerged that not only has the JMPD defied the “request” to cease acting unlawfully with respect to service, but that the AARTO Representations office at the JMPD’s offices in Village Road, Selby is turning people away and telling them that they must either pay these fines  or elect to be tried in court.  This is a gross violation of not only the AARTO Act, but also of the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act and the Constitution as the JMPD is now denying people access to administrative justice.

We were informed that this practice was ordered by Director Gerneke in late December 2011, but were unable to verify its implementation until Wednesday 18 January, when JPSA’s National Secretary was subjected to this treatment.  She stood her ground and insisted that they take the representation forms she was submitting – neither of which related to her – and JPSA would like to encourage all members of the public to do the same as the JMPD has no right or legal standing to refuse to accept AARTO 08 representation forms.  If they subsequently defy the instruction of the Registrar of the RTIA and reject such representations, the JMPD will furthermore be guilty of disobeying a lawful instruction.

A further complaint has been lodged with the Public Protector by JPSA in this regard and we are informed that the Public Protector is scheduled to meet with the JMPD and the RTIA/RTMC on Friday 27 January 2012.

JPSA has continuously and repeatedly warned of the dangers of having an issuing authority being allowed to be issuer, judge, jury and executioner by appointing and employing adjudication officers under AARTO, especially in light of the fact that adjudication is supposed to be a fair and unbiased function of Administrative Justice just as it would be in a conventional court.

JOHANNESBURG – Justice Project South Africa (JPSA) was horrified to learn this morning that the JMPD failed to have blood samples taken from Sibusiso Langa, the accused in the Midrand tragedy that took the lives of 5 “joggers” within the prescribed two hours. Ref here. Jurisdiction has absolutely nothing to do with it, given that SAPS have jurisdiction over the entire nation of South Africa and cases can be transferred between stations if necessary. That is simply an excuse that is not going to wash!

Immediately on learning about the crash on Saturday 22 October 2011, JPSA contacted Superintendent Edna Mamonyane of the JMPD and offered to pay for the blood samples taken from the accused in this case to be analysed by a private laboratory, so as to expedite the matter and bring it to a swift conclusion. We were never taken up on that offer and now we know why.

We can only hope that the rest of the investigation was done properly and that a competent and suitably qualified forensic crash investigator was called in to investigate the crash. At the time of the crash, JPSA also secured the services of IBF Investigations crash investigator, Stan Bezuidenhout, who has over 30 years’ experience in forensic crash investigation – also for free, but did not manage to offer this to the JMPD due to their ignoring our requests for cooperation on the blood tests issue.

At the time of making these offers and soliciting these services, JPSA urged that the accused be charged with the appropriate crimes of driving under the influence of alcohol, reckless or negligent driving and five counts of culpable homicide, but that plea was overridden by the Minister of Transport calling for charges of murder to be brought and the NPA obliged.

A motorist convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol can be imprisoned for up to 6 years (on a first offence), 6 years for reckless or negligent driving and 3 years per count of culpable homicide. That comes to 27 years and would send the right message if it were to be imposed.

Driving under the influence of intoxicating substances is the Number 1 killer on our roads and JPSA has recently put a comprehensive proposal to a number of stakeholders to tackle this scourge effectively. People need to come to the realisation that driving under the influence of intoxicating substances has dire consequences and cannot and will not be tolerated any longer. However, this problem must be effectively tackled before people are killed and/or injured as prevention is better than cure – always!

JPSA again extends its sincere condolences to the families of those affected by this horrific incident.

Transport Minister Sibusiso Ndebele has ordered an investigation into a fake licence scam in Johannesburg. 

According to a report by The Star today (Tuesday, 18 October), fake learner's and driving licences are being sold across Johannesburg for between R800 and R4 500. The Star investigation claimed to have found that fake licences were available at four of the five City of Johannesburg testing centres.

They were primarily organised by car guards and instructors from "fly by night" driving schools who work with centre examiners. At Langlaagte a licence cost R4 500, at Randburg and Florida R2 500, and in Sandton R2 700. The cheapest learner's licence was R800.

“Fraud and corruption will not be tolerated at any licensing centre. Therefore, we have instructed the National Traffic Police to investigate allegations of a fake licence scam in Johannesburg."

Yesterday (Monday, 17 October), a traffic officer [from the National Traffic Police] and motorist appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate's Court for bribery and corruption. On Sunday (16 October 2011), the traffic officer was arrested in Pretoria East for allegedly accepting a R100 bribe from the motorist on Saturday (15 October).

The motorist was also arrested for bribing the traffic officer. Over the past year, several officials and members of the public have been arrested for fraud and corruption related to vehicle and driver licensing. We want to re-iterate our warning to any person who involves themselves in such activities, that we will leave no stone unturned in such matters. Those who accept a bribe, as well as those who offer the bribe, will face the full might of the law. We are also calling upon the public to report such criminal activities to the National Traffic Call Centre on 0861 400 800,”said Minister Ndebele.

JPSA Comment:

It is very encouraging to see that Minister Ndebele is taking this matter seriously. However, it is doubtful that the National Traffic Police have the resources and/or expertise to deal with such an investigation, much less to actually deal with it effectively. This is not intended to demean the National Traffic Police in any way, but they are traffic police, not investigators and they are certainly not equipped to deal with corruption and fraud investigations. They are therefore not a cure-all either.

I once again find myself asking if Minister Ndebele understands the problem or whether he is simply reacting in order to circumstances without considering how to effectively tackle the problem?

Sadly, whilst the National Traffic police pitching up in their mighty Ford Everests, blue lights flashing and sirens blaring may scare these operations underground for a little while, I have little doubt that they will not address the problem effectively.

A complete revamp of the Driving Licence Testing Centre system is required, and this will have to include comprehensive counter-corruption and fraud regimes that have been thoroughly thought out and properly implemented if any of it is to be effective.

Given that 4 out of 5 testing centres under the control of one individual at the JMPD are allegedly involved in these activities, it is also necessary to hold Director Gerneke accountable for what is going on in his testing centres.

Howard Dembovsky.

By CANDICE BAILEY AND DUMISANI DUBE

Fake learner’s and driving licences are being sold across Joburg for anything between R800 and R4 500 – and some take as little as three minutes to print out.

A Star investigation found that at four of the five City of Joburg testing centres, fake licences were available for those willing to pay.

Mostly, these fake licences come with a licensing centre’s stamp, official signatures and the holder’s fingerprints.

And those selling them are car guards and instructors from fly-by-night driving schools who hang around the city’s driving licence test centres and admit to colluding with the examiners.

It has become such a problem that a six-year probe by the Special Investigating Unit into corruption at a driving licence testing centre uncovered 11 175 invalid (fake) licences.

The Star’s investigation involved ordering fake licences and telling corrupt officials involved that they would return later for the forgeries.

The price of the licence depended on the centre. At Langlaagte a licence costs R4 500, while at Sandton one can be bought for R2 700.

At the Randburg and Florida testing stations, be prepared to fork out R2 500.

The cheapest learner’s licence is R800. The learner has to write the test, but the answers are circled on the answer sheet by the time it gets to the learner.

When The Star visited the stations, it took just an hour to secure a licence.

According to the instructor at Langlaagte, the R4 500 fee would include the hiring of the truck, paying off the examiner, his fee and the actual test fees.

How it works is that the learner driver books his or her test legitimately, but is not penalised for errors during a driving exam.

At Florida, several options were available.

A car guard, known to The Star, offered a fake temporary licence for R1 200 and a fake licence card for as little as R1 800.

The licence, which is allegedly printed at a pub, came with a Florida licensing centre stamp, a signature, fingerprints, and red tape covering the holder’s photograph, as the original temporary licences do.

All that was needed up front was R300 and two photos. The holder would have to bring the ink pad for their fingerprints.

And once they receive their licence, they would pay the remainder of the R1 200.

“It looks real, and if a metro police officer has to stop you, he won’t know the difference. The only thing is it is not on the system,” said the car guard.

The fake card licence, according to the car guard, took a little longer to print – 30 minutes to be exact. It would cost R1 800.

According to the car guard, there were several more options for getting a licence.

A “sure pass” learner’s licence with the answers already filled onto the answer sheet would cost R900, in addition to the R108 admin fee charged at the centre.

“About R600 goes to the admin staff inside and R300 goes to the examiner. You won’t have to fill in anything, you will just make as if you write – the answers will be filled in,” said the car guard.

He said it needed to be organised through a driving school.

For your driving licence, advised the car guard, the person would book a legitimate test but would will never have to get behind the wheel.

Known as a “sure pass”, it would cost R2 500.

A similar “sure pass” learners at the Randburg testing station cost only R800.

“You will have to write, but the answers are on the page. A licence at the centre would cost R2 500.

“Come with your money on the day of your learners and I will give it to the examiners,” said the car guard.

At Randburg, a driving school teacher said he was friends with all the examiners and could guarantee a “sure pass”.

A Soweto man, who owns a fake licence but does not want to be identified as he fears prosecution, said it took him three days in February to get the licence. But he never collected his card because he later found out that the licence was never properly processed.

Joburg metro police department spokeswoman Edna Mamonyane said corruption at testing centres was a challenge.

“We are trying to uproot it,” she said. - The Star

JPSA Comment

Firstly, people who buy these things are stupid criminals! The 11 175 cases are a drop in the ocean and all of these people should have been arrested on the spot and charged with fraud (amongst other things) when it emerged that they have fakes.

Surely people realise that cheating their way through a driving test is the most dangerous thing that anyone can do. If you cannot pass your driving licence legitimately, then chances are that you cannot drive properly and that means that you are putting your own and other people's lives at risk.

I find it little short of astounding that the JMPD has the audacity to say "corruption at testing centres was a challenge" and “We are trying to uproot it". Trying how? By insulting JPSA when we put a proposal to the JMPD to tackle corruption at no charge to the JMPD? They are not trying at all. They are turning a blind eye to it in the hope that it will simply fix itself!

Howard Dembovsky.

From IOL

More than 26 000 unlicensed drivers have been caught behind the wheel on Cape Town’s roads in just three months, says the city council.

The figure has officials so worried that the city’s safety and security portfolio committee has placed it high on the agenda at meetings, and it is exploring ways to tackle this “danger on the road”.

In July, 10 862 unlicensed drivers were bust by metro police and the city’s traffic services, the city said. In August, the figure dipped slightly to 9 507, while in June more than 6 000 unlicensed drivers were nabbed.

September’s figures are still being collated.

Meanwhile, the Western Cape traffic department said its officers had bust 2 168 unlicensed drivers on the province’s roads in September.

The city said its traffic services figures were separate from the thousands of motorists who had valid licences but were fined for failing to carry them.

To deal with the problem, the city’s safety and security portfolio committee is set to propose a plan where sub-councils use ward allocations to open more testing centres.

There are 18 driving testing centres in the city, where about 5300 tests are conducted each month.

The failure rate for driving licences is 60 percent and 40 percent for learner’s licences.

The average waiting period for a driving licence test is about four months.

The Gallows Hill testing centre in Green Point has the longest wait – just more than four months.

Adding to the backlog are the 1500 learner drivers who miss driving licence appointments each month. In May, 2050 missed their driving licence tests.

JP Smith, the mayoral committee member for safety and security, said the city had opened five new centres to reduce the backlog, bringing the waiting time down to four months from about six to nine months a few years ago.

Merle Lourens, city traffic services spokeswoman, said that apart from the 6378 unlicensed drivers nabbed in June there were 4374 drivers with valid licences who were fined for not having their licences with them.

Lourens said errant drivers were fined and not allowed to drive further.

“Either the officer or the driver makes contact with a family member or friend with a valid licence to come and fetch the driver and to drive the vehicle.

“In the case of an underage driver (under 18 years), the parent or guardian is also charged for permitting an unlicensed driver to drive.”

Motorists driving a light motor vehicle faced a R500 fine, while the person who permitted the unlicensed driver to drive the vehicle was fined R1000, said Lourens.

She said the large number of unlicensed drivers was a cause for concern.

“The unlicensed driver may know the workings of a vehicle, but may not know the rules of the road which leads to the possibility of accidents, inconsiderate driving, reckless driving and disregard for road traffic signs, which can contribute to accidents,” she said.

The reasons for low compliance were varied.

Lourens said: “Some people drive without a licence out of desperation because their job is dependent on them driving, while some just don’t respect the rules of the road,” .

She said traffic services would continue their rigorous clampdown on unlicensed drivers.

Smith said that last week the portfolio committee had discussed the high number of unlicensed drivers.

This committee would now formulate a business plan for sub-councils to use ward allocations to make more testing centres available, especially for learner driver tests.

Harold Williams, spokesman for the provincial traffic department, said officers caught 2168 unlicensed drivers in the Western Cape in September.

“Unlicensed drivers are a danger on the road. They have not gone through the prescribed test to see if they can operate a motor vehicle in a safe manner,” added Williams. - Cape Argus

JPSA Comment

Congratulations to the Cape Town Metro Police Department for doing their jobs properly. May we please have the statistics for the other Metro's, i.e. Johannesburg, Tshwane, Ekurhuleni & Durban? Oh, that's right cameras can't pick up unlicensed drivers, can they?

The saga of Ndumiso Jaca has been a sustained and intriguing one, revealing more and more examples of this Deputy Chief of one of the largest Metropolitan Police Departments in the country outwardly and brazenly flaunting the law.

But there is now very clear evidence to the fact that comeraderie amongst the corrupt thugs in the TMPD exists and exposes a Department that is rotten to the core. It is quite clear that a grand scale investigation into everyone in the TMPD is going to have to be launched by the Hawks.

The saga so far...

On 12 September 2011, Barry Bateman of Eyewitness News broke a story of a man who has the identical, counterfeit number plates fitted to two completely separate vehicles, a Harley Davidson V-Rod motorcycle and a BMW Z4 coupe motor car.

The “sensation” caused by this story sent shock waves through the media and the public at large; with everyone asking just how it could be that such a senior, supposed law enforcement official could so overtly flaunt a law with which he should in fact be more than fully versed.

The offices of the City Manager and the Mayor hauled Jaca into a meeting on the same day that the story broke and set in motion a course of events that saw Jaca making moves to now comply with the law after the fact, in an overr attempt to undo his crimes that had gone before.

The course of events that surrounded the BMW Z4 was quite astounding – and as investigations would reveal and these included that:

• On 3 March 2008, the BMW Z4 in question, which at that time bore the number plate SGM***GP was marked as a write off on the eNaTIS vehicle registry.
• Shortly thereafter, in May 2008, Jaca bought this vehicle from Salvage Management Solutions and took possession of it.
• During the period that followed, Jaca obviously made repairs to the vehicle and placed counterfeit number plates on it, reading BALTY GP.
• It has emerged that he then proceeded to use this car on the road, without subjecting it to a roadworthy test, registering or licensing it.
• On 1 May 2009, whilst driving it on the M1 motorway in Johannesburg, the vehicle was snapped from behind, as is the usual modus operandi by speed trappers, doing 100km/h in an 80km/h zone. This “Kodak moment” was then captured on the JMPD’s Gismo system, but no fine was issued because the number plate was false and no details appeared on the eNaTIS registry. It was therefore archived as untracable.
• On 12 September 2011, Barry Bateman broke the story and Jaca was hauled into the Mayor’s office and asked to explain himself.
• On 13 September 2011, Jaca took the vehicle to the Randburg testing station in the jurisdiction of the JMPD and had the vehicle roadworthied.
• On 14 September 2011, he went and registered the vehicle at the Mabopane Licensing authority in Pretoria.
• On 15 September 2011, he licensed the vehicle at the Mabopane Licensing authority in Pretoria. In his and obviously the Mayor of Tshwane’s opinions - crime undone.

But is it as easy as all that to erase a crime and if so, then surely anyone else accused of a crime could do exactly the same thing? Well, as much as the limited capacity to understand what constitutes a crime and what doesn’t on the part of Jaca and his co-conspirators exists, the fact still remains that a crime (or several of them) was committed and no amount of undoing can change that.

In fact, this attempt to take a shower after the fact has merely further established his guilt and established Jaca to be a criminal of epic proportion. He has also clearly attempted to lie his way out of trouble by allegedly representing to the Mayor that he had not used the car on a public road and that he thought it was registered.

I say “allegedly” because the Executive Mayor of Tshwane has, instead of exercising good governance and transparency, with respect to his so-called “investigation”, refused to make public the findings of that investigation – even now when it has been revealed that his trusted side-kick has been caught out lying to him.

Since the Mayor put Jaca on "special leave" , a number of other things have also come to light, including him promoting 5 of his buddies to key posts, after he was "suspended" and then on Friday 7 October 2011, the Minister of Transport himself apparently reacted with “shock” to the photograph of Jaca driving his beloved BMW Z4, roof down and talking on his cell phone whilst driving with no seatbelt on in Pretoria traffic. So engrossed in his conversation was dear old "Balty" that he even failed to notice the unlawful window washer standing on the bumper of the truck stopped at the traffic lights through which he was driving!

So where does this leave everything?

Well, it is a fact that I laid a complaint with the RTMC, National Traffic Police and ICD immediately on 12 September 2011. It is also a fact that the complaint was copied to Logan Maistry, Transport Minister Sibusiso Ndebele’s long time spin doctor and that failed to hit the mark.

The ICD immediately launched an investigation on Jaca for corruption and that is ongoing, but after no proper action with respect to the traffic crime took place on the part of the RTMC and National Traffic Police, I also laid criminal charges against Jaca under the National Road Traffic Act with the SAPS on 16 September 2011.

Now it appears that the JMPD wish to proceed against Jaca as well and that is a good thing, since he committed a crime in their jurisdiction. Whilst it is certainly true that you cannot be prosecuted for the same crime more than once, no one has formally charged him yet and that is simply a crime in itself.

Someone is going to have to bite the bullet and formally charge this criminal with his crimes and I could not give a rat’s ass who that is, as long as they do it and as long as they convict him of his crime. If I was allowed to do it myself, believe me, I would have done so a long, long time ago – and I would have convicted him too – believe me.

Many people have asked why it is that I have taken such a keen interest and hard assed stance in this case and there have been plenty of Jaca supporters and new age racists that have tried to insinuate that it is a personal thing of some kind.

The fact is that I have never so much as set eyes on or spoken with Jaca, let alone met him and quite frankly, the only time I want to see him is in court. I have nothing whatsoever against him on a personal level, but on a professional level, I have more than a little axe to grind with him and all of those who are protecting him. They are all a disgrace to law enforcement and do not deserve to be called law enforcers.

Firstly, let’s just remember that this man holds a very senior post in law enforcement. Now let’s also remember that this role is specifically in traffic law enforcement. Even a civilian knows that they have to roadworthy, register and license a vehicle prior to using it on a public road and for him to claim ignorance the way he has points to one of two things. Either he is unqualified to be so much as a constable in a Metropolitan Police Department, or he simply doesn’t give a hoot what the law says. I suspect that it is the latter in light of some other stuff I know about his chequered past, but either way the fact still remains that he cannot claim ignorance of the law – which is not an excuse in any case.

His claim that he handed the role of registering his vehicle to so-called “agents” to deal with is nothing short of a crock of utter bollocks. Is he admitting that he is so ignorant of the process or corrupt that he would not have expected his vehicle to be roadworthied without being taken from or by him for testing? Is he admitting that he is so ignorant of the law or indeed, blind, that he would not have noticed that he had no licence disc in his windscreen? Is he admitting that he is so ignorant of the law as to think that registering one number plate entitles him to place that same number plate on two distinctly different vehicles? Of course that is what he is admitting since he clearly has no respect for the law and an attitude the size of the continent of Africa.

What is even more astounding is that the Executive Mayor and the City Manager of Tshwane are both apparently so gullible and/or ignorant as to buy into his so-called explanations and thereby admit that they too have severely limited capacity to understand the basics and identify when they are being spun a load of tripe. Either that or Jaca has something on them, but let’s not speculate shall we?

But were they gullible at all or did they just simply turn a blind eye to what Jaca was doing? Well, the latest revelation that some 20 people in the Tshwane Metropolitan Police administration were made aware of Jaca’s false number plates almost 12 months ago suggests that they could not be bothered with what is lawful and what is not! If they claim that they were unaware of that email, then it is not unreasonable to say that they have failed to monitor what is going on in their own corrupt Metropolitan Police Department and have allowed the wool to be pulled over their eyes.

In fact, it is quite clear that it is not only Jaca that is a criminal but all of the recipients of that email are too since they have in fact defeated the ends of justice by willingly and knowingly allowing a crime to be and continue to be committed. They should all be prosecuted and jailed, along with their buddy!

The TMPD has a shocking reputation of abusive behaviour and maladministration and this latest episode does not only call into question the integrity of the almighty Ndumiso Jaca, but that of the entire senior management of the Tshwane Metropolitan Police Department and, I believe, provides a very good reason for the TMPD to be brought under immediate administration in terms of Section 33 of the RTMC Act for non-compliance with national road traffic law enforcement code and to be disbanded, before it can do any more damage. The Hawks also need to do a comprehensive investigation into everyone in the TMPD as there are simply too many people involved in this incident to believe that corruption is not rife in the TMPD.

If the RTMC and Department of Transport does tackle the TMPD however, I would be the most surprised individual on the planet since they  do not seem to take seriously their roles in ensuring that traffic law enforcement is conducted properly. After all, they have simply sat back and passively spectated as this saga has unfolded, and then reacted with so-called "shock" when shown pictures. One has to ask just how much more of their insincere nonsense the public and I are expected to swallow?

Howard Dembovsky
National Chairman - Justice Project South Africa

JOHANNESBURG – Justice Project South Africa (JPSA) hereby confirms that its National Chairman, Howard Dembovsky has laid formal criminal charges against Deputy Chief of the Tshwane Metropolitan Police Department, Mr Ndumiso Jaca for violating Section 68 of the National Road Traffic Act.

The charges were laid at the Alberton SAPS station on Friday 16 September 2011 and a docket with the reference CAS 413/9/2011 was registered on the same day. It is expected that the docket will be forwarded to SAPS Pretoria for action. The charges that have been brought are in terms of Section 68(1) and 68(2)(b) of the National Road Traffic Act, 1996 and are of similar severity as drunk driving, “reckless or negligent driving” and fraud. They are not a simple traffic fine issue as some seem to believe.

This has resulted from the revelation on Monday 12 September 2011 that Deputy Chief Jaca had affixed to two distinctly different motor vehicles with what were at the time false number plates reading “BALTY GP”.

One plate was affixed to a Harley Davidson V-Rod motorcycle that is registered in the name of the president of the Sopranos Biker Club, Mr Moraka Ephraim Mokoka and the others were fitted to a BMW Z4 coupe which was both unroadworthy and unregistered as of Monday 12 September 2011.

In addition, the BMW Z4 has (or had at that time) blue flashing lights fitted inside its windscreen and it has allegedly been observed on several occasions driving in the emergency lane on the Mabopane highway with them flashing.

On Monday 12 September, a formal complaint by JPSA was drafted and sent to National Traffic Police Chief, David Tembe, CEO of the RTMC, Collins Letsoalo, Senior Executive Manager of the RTMC, Ashref Ismail, Acting Registrar of the RTIA, Japh Chuwe and Advocate Poopedi of the ICD. The complaint was also copied to spokesman for the Minister and Department of Transport, Logan Maistry as well as to Captain Mbada at SAPS Gauteng Commander, General Petros’ office.

The results of this complaint have been that the ICD confirmed an investigation into corruption had been launched against Mr Jaca and that a complaint was lodged with the Tshwane Metropolitan Police Internal Affairs Department by one of David Tembe’s staff on his instruction as Chief of the National Traffic Police. Ashref Ismail of the RTMC stated on radio that no criminal charges had been laid because the vehicles were on private property at the time that the photographs were taken.

Additionally, the Mayor of Tshwane has launched an “administrative enquiry” into the matter and has extended Mr Jaca two weeks to respond to the matter.

It is vitally important to understand that the National Road Traffic Act has no requirement for proof to be furnished that a vehicle fitted with counterfeit plates has been operated on a public road and that it additionally defines the mere manufacture and/or possession of such plates a criminal offence.

Until Friday 16 September 2011, no criminal matter had been brought against Mr Jaca and it was clear that none would be forthcoming unless JPSA did so, since there is clear cronyism being practiced in this matter. Any civilian accused of a similar crime would have been summarily arrested and charged immediately when the matter arose, but clearly Mr Jaca is considered to be an untouchable who is additionally thought to be above the law due to his position.

Since the emergence of this matter, Mr Jaca has been very busy indeed during the course of last week, having roadworthied, registered and licenced the vehicle which he bought in May 2008 after it was written off and deregistered on 3 March 2008. Below are the indisputable facts on this matter:

• On Monday 12 September 2011, it was revealed that Mr Jaca had affixed these number plates to two (not just one) vehicles – prior to “BALTY GP” even existing on the eNaTIS database. They were therefore counterfeit at that time. The BMW was also unroadworthy, unregistered and unlicensed at that time.
• On Tuesday 13 September 2011, he roadworthied the vehicle at the Randburg Licensing Testing Station in Johannesburg despite him being resident and employed in the Tshwane Metropolitan area.
• On Wednesday 14 September 2011, he registered the vehicle and the personalised plate “BALTYGP”, which in turn relates to a newly registered Gauteng number plate applicable to this vehicle at the vehicle at Mabopane Licensing Department in Pretoria.  This vehicle is now registered as a built up (code 3) vehicle.
• On Thursday 15 September 2011, he licenced the vehicle at the vehicle at Mabopane Licensing Department in Pretoria.

It would appear that Mr Jaca, whose biker nickname is "Balty" is under the impression that by now having registered the vehicle and his previously false number plate, all will be forgiven and he will no longer be deemed as to have committed a crime. If only it were that simple, there can be no doubt that scores of other criminals would simply undo their crimes by complying with the law after they have been caught breaking it.

It must be noted that the laying of these criminal charges has nothing whatsoever to do with any personal vendettas against Mr Jaca and I don’t even know him, nor do I have any personal issues at all with him. It is not however in the interests of justice and equality under the framework of South Africa’s laws to knowingly allow any person to commit a crime and not report it since that in itself is also a crime. What's right is right and what's wrong is wrong - simple.

Furthermore, no ordinary citizen would have been afforded the leniency and preparedness to turn a blind eye to any crimes they have committed which Mr Jaca has been afforded by the various authorities concerned. Doing so is not justice; it is a gross injustice on the part of all concerned and sends an entirely inappropriate message to all South Africans.

Contacts:

• Howard Dembovsky – 082 418 6210
• Larger format images are available for download at https://www.jp-sa.org/media.asp

Please note that personal particulars and detailed information relating to the legal registration of this plate and vehicle have been partially obscured from these images to protect Mr Jaca’s privacy and prevent criminal activity by those who clone vehicles etc.