“The safety and lives of our residents are much more important than any fines revenue generated,” said Michael Sun, the Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Public Safety.
He said that the department was alarmed by the false impression created in the media that there is no speed law enforcement in the City of Johannesburg (CoJ).
“Motorists must not be deceived into thinking that Joburg is now a speed limit free zone,” said Sun.
This came after an announcement was made that motorists in Johannesburg will not be receiving any more speeding fines via fixed cameras. “In January this year, it was discovered that the speed enforcement service contract between CoJ and the service provider was unlawfully extended. In line with the new administration’s stance on a clean and accountable government, a decision was made to terminate the contract, resulting in the service provider removing the fixed cameras,” he said.
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Sun said that the CoJ, in an effort to ensure speed law enforcement continued, has procured speed enforcement cameras and services from another service provider and transgressors have been issued with infringement notices
“Within the next three weeks, the city will open the tender advertisement process to ensure a new service provider is chosen on the right merits. This will also ensure an improvement of speed law enforcement and service delivery to the public,” he said.
The new contract will also benefit the CoJ as well as the residents, as it will ensure the department will be the owners of both the system as well as the speed camera infrastructure.
“The public should not think there is no speed law enforcement in the CoJ, In fact, the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) has deployed officers to various hot spots across the city to curb speeding by way of mobile speed cameras,” said the MMC.
He concluded by saying that the department’s primary function is to ensure the safety of road users and dismissed the notion that the JMPD is dependent on revenue from fines to operate, as the department is allocated a budget.
“We will continue to clamp down, not only on speedsters, but also on bad drivers on our roads. This will remain a priority,” he said.
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