The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) said this week it has been flooded with complaints after motorists claimed their efforts to renew their licences were blocked because of traffic fines of which they had no knowledge.

According to a report in The Citizen, Outa’s chief legal officer, Advocate Stefanie Fick, said the organisation believed in some instances the Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA) did not issue enforcement orders against the motorists.

While motorists with unpaid fines were not allowed to renew their vehicle or driver’s licences, Fick said the reasons for the outstanding enforcement orders were not completely clear.

‘In many of the cases, motorists were unaware of any outstanding infringement notices or unpaid fines,’ she reportedly told East Coast Radio. She said the Administrative Adjunction of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) could not cope with the administrative processes of enforcement orders at this stage.

‘Outa asks how will they be able to cope with the Amendment Act to be rolled out nationwide, by July 2021 when the demerit system will add even more problems to the mix,’ she said.

This also comes in light of the government’s announcement that motorists who missed the deadline of 22 September to renew their vehicle licences would have to pay a penalty charge of 10% a month on the annual licence fee.

Meanwhile, Outa last month also called on Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula to consider changing the driver’s licence renewal process from 5 to 10 years, which, it believes, would save both consumers and the government time and money.

Full report in The Citizen