JPSA questions efficacy of specialised e-toll courts
Mr Dembovsky said, “It is plain and simple. If we are going to deal with road and traffic essentials, let’s deal with the ones that kill people.
Justice Project South Africa (JPSA) has asked why government has prioritised the proposed specialised e-toll courts, instead of being more concerned with the more serious violations on the roads.
The statement was released on Monday, October 14, after the JPSA learnt that the South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) and the Justice Department were discussing the possibility of establishing special courts where e-toll non-payers could be prosecuted.
Chairman of the JPSA, Howard Dembovsky, said the Department of Justice establishing special courts for e-tolls, ahead advancing specialised courts that handle drunk driving and issues pertaining to road negligence, shows that the departments are more concerned with chasing money as opposed to doing their job.
Mr Dembovsky said, “It is plain and simple. If we are going to deal with road and traffic essentials, let’s deal with the ones that kill people. Unfortunately, it would appear the Department of Transport has an unfortunate habit of chasing money as opposed to doing its job. The fact is, around about 17 000 people die on our roads each year, ten times an many people are injured and about 8 000 people are paralysed on our roads.”
“We have a situation where the court cases of people who are allegedly drunk, reckless or negligent take several years to finalise because of the lack efficiency in handling matters such as providing the results in drug tests.
“If we can establish courts to prosecute people for not paying for driving on roads which have already been paid for, then I think we can have the thought to establish courts to send a message to people who could cause road carnage. e-Toll courts show that our priorities are in collecting money more than in saving lives or saving people from injuries. The priority is not in creating a safer road-using environment for all road users. So at the end of the day, the Department of Transport has consistently failed to address the road carnage in South Africa,” said Mr Dembovsky.
The deputy minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Mrs Debbie Schafer said, “The Justice Department should be focusing on fixing our justice system so that it works for everybody, not creating special courts to protect government interests at the expense of members of the public.”
“If the Department goes ahead with these courts, it will be a slap in the face of every South African. It will be the clearest indication yet that the interests of the general population are last on the government’s priority list,” she added.
Mr Dembovsky believes that specialised courts for e-toll non-payers will fail because it is still more than doubtful whether the courts would be able to deal with the volume of offenders.
“Trying to prosecute the million-plus non-compliant toll users on a monthly basis will most certainly collapse South Africa’s criminal justice system. Even if they do establish special courts, it is still more than doubtful whether even these would be able to deal with the volume of offenders,” he said.
