The Role of Big Business in Traffic Enforcement.

No-one can deny that the various traffic enforcement agencies have taken full advantage of legislation which legalises so-called Public-Private partnerships. In many cases, these are motivated by sheer necessity, but in others, one has to ask what the real motivation is.

An excellent example of vital Public-Private partnership is in the case of the privatized pointsmen in evidence in Johannesburg and soon to be all over the country. Run by a company called Traffic FreeFlow and sponsored by several businesses – namely OUTsurance, Honda, Althech Netstar, Kit Group and Ronnoco and promoted by Talk Radio 702 and their sister station Highveld Stereo, these true Road Angels fulfil a vital role of controlling traffic flow.

Unfortunately, as fantastic and vital a role they are playing, they are also a stark reminder of how Traffic Authorities have abandoned their fundamental duties in favour of chasing the big bucks – not the more serious issues as they would have us believe.

But there are other Public-Private partnerships which work very differently to this and these appear to be nothing short of sinister. Let’s examine the Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality’s News Archive entitled: “Metro police's smart new roadblock vehicle is already catching law-breakers in their tracks, from speedsters to stolen vehicles.” (This article is available here.)

As if the advertising material in evidence on “The Beast” were not enough to make it glaringly obvious that this vehicle is an example of Public-Private partnership, it is openly stated in this article that “The Beast” (of which there are five beasts) is staffed by “30 JMPD officers and technicians from three private companies, TMT Services and Supplies (Pty) Ltd., Syntell (Pty) Ltd. and MVS - Moving Violation Systems Phumelelo (Pty) Ltd., the suppliers of the 'high-tech' roadblock equipment.”

It is also stated that this vehicle was sponsored by Traffic Management Technologies (TMT) and at R2.2 Million a pop, one has to ask – “Did they sponsor just one Beast or all five at a whopping R11 Million?” We suspect that the latter is true and here is why.

If you go to the JMPD’s offices in the Johannesburg CBD you will notice that every floor of their administration building (excluding the ground floor) has TMT’s logo emblazoned on every informative sign. This raises the question of “Who is running the JMPD?”

TMT supplies the JMPD with, amongst other things, the Safe-T-Cam in use in generating the very things this site deals with – namely photographic speed fines. When one considers that R11 Million is not as big an amount as one may first think in light of the millions of Rands of fines generated by the 100 odd speed cameras in operation daily in Greater Johannesburg, it is not hard to see how quickly this amount could be recovered.

But what of all those SME cameras buddy? Are those "sponsored" too or did the JMPD buy them? If they are "sponsored" as well, then the more fines they issue, the more cameras they will get - right? Well, it's simple not one camera is purchased. All of them are supplied free of charge, along with the vehicles in which they are transported and who knows what else, for the paltry sum of R39.50 "processing fee" for each "infringement".

Public-Private partnerships are one thing, but privatized "Police" forces are entirely another.

Then there is Syntell. This is the company that (amongst other things) runs payfine.co.za which acts as a collection mechanism for the JMPD and other Traffic Enforcement agencies. They portray themselves as an independent convenience for you to cough up where they are actually one of the contractors to the JMPD and other traffic authorities that also supply speed cameras and fine processing.

No-one can deny that the service they offer is very convenient and there has to be some way for beleaguered motorists to cough up, however; does not appointing them as the sole provider of this facility not smack of the Monopolies of Telkom, Eskom, etc. of the purported and much-hated Apartheid era? Well, it has been legislated so clearly it must be OK.

Interestingly, their site shows the following information when you query your fine status using their facility:

Notice Number: xx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxx-x
Registration Number: $UCKER GP
Offence Date: 01 April 2009
Municipality:  Johannesburg- Aarto
Description N1 north at/near diepkloof interchange (n12 under)
Fine Value: R 375.00  

And then the following:

< There is currently no image that has been uploaded onto www.payfine.co.za for this offence. The Municipality will have the image. Please contact them, or check back later on www.payfine.co.za. Please note that only camera offences will have images. >

So, what’s wrong with this? Well, for starters could someone please tell me how a location can be defined as a description of the offence? Then also please tell me where the points that will be zapped onto my licence (when the trial phase is over) appear? Then, and most importantly, please tell me why so many fines have no photographs? If payfine.co.za is a convenience thing to help me, then surely I shouldn’t be told to go to the Municipality to see if it is in fact my vehicle!

The response I got from payfine.co.za regarding these queries was:

“Good day

Please be advised that we are still waiting for that information to be loaded on our side, however you can contact her relevant traffic department.

thank you”

It only took them 12 days and two emails from me to provide the response but hey, they are the JMPD’s and now apparently, the government’s business partners so how dare I ask them questions anyway?

Payfine.co.za asks for a very reasonable “convenience fee” of R5 per fine that you pay, which sounds great and when you add it up, the fuel, time and frustration would come to way more than that. However, this is a money-spinner of note and how nice it is for them to have the monopoly. If we could have just R1 for each fine that is paid on their site, we could work miracles! One also has to ask if this is all they get – given that they are in partnership with the JMPD and indeed now, the entire AARTO system. They should list with the stock exchange so we can get shares and also get rich quick. Isn't South Africa great? Where else can you get your company legislated into a multi-million buck venture?

It may also interest you to know that the fine amount shown on payfine.co.za is the 50% discounted amount and whilst the Act says that the 50% discount applies in the first 32 days from issue of the infringement notice, it is not applicable after that period.

Yet, seven months after the commission of the alleged offence, the fine amount shown on the site remains 50% of the actual fine amount of R750. If you pay outside the 32 days, at the only amount you can pay on payfine.co.za, your fine will not be considered as paid, and you will be liable for the other 50%, the R60 for a "courtessy letter", R60 for an inforcement order, and Sheriff fees for a Warrant of execution that will be issued againgst your name and served on you! Bye-bye TV.

Additionally - you will be listed with credit bureaus by AARTO!

MVS (Moving Violation Systems Phumelelo) processes the photographs for the JMPD gathered from Roodepoort and Soweto. They pull all of the photographs and data off the cameras in these areas and process them for use by the JMPD. 

So with all of the business partners involved in this whole thing, one has to ask "who gets what and does the beleaguered Road Accident Fund, which can afford to pay a foreigner over a half a billion Rand and then cut the benefits to South Africans, get a slice of the action?”

The answer is simple:

• The municipality (or traffic authority) gets 100% of the 50% discounted amount at all stages in the process. In the example above, R375.00.
  
  
• The processing contractor gets R39.50 per notice issued, regardless of the amount. Whether there are additional kick-backs or not is a closely guarded secret. It stands to reason that volume is a very important factor in this business model - doesn't it?
  
  
• After the 32 days have elapsed, the other 50% belongs to AARTO (The RTMC) as do all of the fees. This money is supposedly going to be used for "projects" to improve road safety. Sure it is.
  
  
• The Road Accident Fund gets 0% of anything. They don't really need it anyway as their funding comes from taxes on fuel etc.

So, in a nutshell, what are we saying? Well, it would appear that policing our country’s roads have become a commercial enterprise – open only to a select few. Talk about job reservation - Apartheid is alive and well and living in South Africa, as if this weren’t clear enough from other areas, but this is not a political discussion site, so enough said.

Now have a look at the construction zones.