Western Cape Welcomes Withdrawal of Drives Licence Demerit System

Western Cape authorities welcome the decision by the President Jacob Zuma to withdraw the proclamation (copy attached) for the implementation of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO) in the Western Cape. Accordingly, the proclamation to repeal the previous roll-out date has been published in Government Gazette No 33341.

This follows the Western Capes decision to approach the courts to postpone the supposed implementation date of the new system in the province after numerous attempts to persuade the National Department of Transport to do so.

The City of Cape Town Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security Councillor Smith is upbeat that the withdrawal of the proclamation will pave the way for thorough preparations for the implementation of AARTO to be completed.

"The withdrawal of the proclamation will give us sufficient time to interact with the National Department of Transport and the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) to resolve all the concerns we have raised. These include the readiness of information technology systems; addressing the legal challenges currently facing the implementation of the legislation, the need for thorough training for all law enforcement officers and staff who will be responsible for the day to day management of the system; the need to educate the public about the implications of the demerit system for motorists and the need to resolve funding issues between the three spheres of government." said Councillor Smith.

"Our application for the interdict was never a rejection of AARTO per se. We are in favour of AARTO in principle, but as with everything, the success will depend on getting the details of the implementation right and ensuring that it is flawless. The City and Province support the road safety principles underpinning AARTO and the enforcement benefits it will achieve. And therefore we wanted to ensure that every possible hindrance that would impede its successful implementation is dealt with before it is rolled out in the Western Cape. The withdrawal of the proclamation now allows us to do so. It is a pity that the matter had to involve the courts to be settled when there were numerous opportunities to do this in the last few weeks without spending a cent of taxpayers money." added Minister Carlisle.

"I support the discussion to postpone the implementation of AARTO in the Province until such time as proper systems are in place to fully and properly implement it." concluded Adv. Lennit Max, Minister of Community Safety.

Notice of Withdrawal of Drives Licence Demerit System: Pdf