Sanral denies claims motorist was prevented from renewing licence
JOBURG - South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) has scorned claims by Justice Project South Africa (JPSA) that a motorist was allegedly prevented from renewing his license disk due to an outstanding e-toll debt.
A statement on their website stated, “Justice Project South Africa has become aware of the fact that members of the public are being refused licence disc renewals for their vehicles and that misinformation and often outrageous explanations as to why this is happening are prolific. This misinformation has taken various forms, the latest of which is saying that the transaction is being refused on the basis of outstanding e-tolls.”
JPSA also claimed that the issue with the motorist cited in the referenced incident was resolved within minutes of him calling JPSA for clarity on 2 July.
However, Sanral spokesperson Vusi Mona said the company was aware of the alleged incident but he said, “It may be that the gentleman misheard or was misinformed, as the statement that he produced that was attached to the query did not mention e-tolls at all.”
Mona said the infringements could be speeding or parking fines. “We do not believe that this is an e-toll issue. He would need to report this to the appropriate authorities.”
He added that e-toll collection and enforcement for failure to pay are not governed by the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO). Furthermore, the JPSA stated that the misinformation doing the rounds is not limited to e-tolls. While some of it originates from licencing authorities who tell people that they must settle all of their traffic fines before they can get their licence disc renewed. The statement read, “Counter staff at the South African Post Office tend to send motorists into a flat spin by informing them that there is a warrant of arrest out for them. While the existence of a warrant of arrest is one of the reasons that a licence disc may be withheld, it is far from the only reason and is, in fact, the least common reason for this happening.”
