The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) wants to challenge
the constitutionality of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic
Offences (Aarto) Act.
Traffic on the highway / Pexels
The act was signed into law by President Cyril Ramaphosa in
August.
While Outa says it would like to see the system working, it
believes Aarto is flawed in many ways.
"We’re not opposed to sanctions against bad driving or
the demerit point system," says the organisation’s Rudie Heyneke.
"However, this scheme is flawed in its administrative
processes, constitutionality and ability to reduce road fatalities. Outa
believes the Aarto Amendment Act, which includes the drivers’ demerit system,
is a poorly considered piece of legislation which will be impossible to
implement.
"An unenforceable law will not help to address the road
accident problem," he adds.
This is not the first time Outa has voiced concerns over
Aarto.
"Outa opposed this law from when the amendment bill was
published in 2015", says Heyneke.
"In July, Outa wrote to President (Cyril) Ramaphosa,
asking him not to sign it into law, saying that it does not withstand
constitutional scrutiny.
"Our engagements in Parliament and letters to the
president have been ignored.”
The president signed
the law in August but did not proclaim the date from which it would become
effective.
However, yesterday,
Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula said the start date for the Aarto law would
soon be proclaimed and that the system will be in full effect from June next
year.
