Gauteng municipalities have paid dearly for Aarto, the Administrative Adjudication of Traffic Offences.
The SA Local Government Association (Salga) says the City of Joburg lost R150 million and Tshwane R40m in income from fines, while potential losses for Ekurhuleni were estimated at R50m.
the system was rolled out in a pilot phase in Tshwane and Joburg in 2008 – 10 years after the law was enacted.
Salga resolved, at its national conference, to ask the Department of Transport to scrap Aarto “due to the fact that it is not functioning and its negative impact on municipal revenue”.
a Salga document discussed in Parliament yesterday states: “The implementation of Aarto was a decision taken by a national agency and imposed on municipalities without any impact assessment undertaken.”
A breakdown of the impact on the City of Joburg’s coffers showed income from traffic fines had been slashed by almost half. -The Star