Arrest warrant will soon mean no licence

Kwanele Butana

Motorists with outstanding warrants of arrest will soon not be allowed to renew their driver’s licences or register vehicles in their name, Transport and Public Works MEC Robin Carlisle has warned.

The new system, Admin Mark, will prevent drivers with outstanding warrants of arrest from accessing any eNaTis service, including obtaining a licence disc or roadworthy certificate, or transferring a vehicle registration.

The Admin Mark will be placed on the eNaTis records of anyone in the Western Cape with an outstanding warrant of arrest for a traffic offence. Warrants of arrest are only issued when a traffic fine is not paid and the car owner is not in court on the court date.

“Individuals with an ‘Admin Mark’ will not be able to conduct any transactions with eNaTis until they have cleared up the matter with the traffic official who requested (the warrant of arrest),” said Carlisle.

Public transport operators, such as owners of tour buses, minibus taxis and metered taxis, will not be able to obtain or renew operating licences until their eNaTis records are clear.

“We’ve already trailed the Admin Mark on the 100 public transport operators with the most outstanding warrants, and the results were almost instantaneous. Individuals who have flouted the law for

years are forced to come forward,” said Carlisle. He added that his department was managing the process, but would delegate it to municipalities.

The City of Cape Town is the first municipality to implement the system.

Carlisle urged motorists who have ignored a fine in the last few years to find out if a warrant of arrest has been issued.

This can be done at any Traffic Services branch or by contacting the city’s call centre on 0860 103 089. It can also be done by visiting www.payfine. co.za, registering and then checking fines. If there are fines that are no longer payable, this means a warrant of arrest may have been issued and motorists should approach their local Traffic Services department to resolve the matter. Fines can be paid online to avoid the possibility of facing arrest.

“The Admin Mark will mean that you may find yourself without a valid driver’s or vehicle licence, which could harm your livelihood and that of your family,” said Carlisle.

He commended the city’s new campaign to confiscate cellphones used without hands-free kits by motorists while driving as a “great example of innovative thinking”.

kwanele.butana@inl.co.za