Amnesty carrot for traffic fines

TRAFFIC offenders in the Eastern Cape can breathe a sigh of relief because transport MEC Weziwe Tikana has announced a carrotand-stick amnesty on fines.

The following terms and conditions will apply:

● Offenders will only get half off;

● This is a limited offer – fines must have been incurred from between April and September 2016;

● The amnesty window slams shut on June 30;

● Don’t try and claim amnesty when bust on the road by traffic officers – offenders must go to the traffic department and claim their amnesty there; and

● If you don’t take up the offer, you will face “the full might of the law”.

All of this was announced in Tikana’s policy speech last week.

As things stand, unpaid traffic fines issued during this period amount to a sizeable R30million.

Tikana said the amnesty was granted only to offenders who voluntarily came in to check and pay their fines.

All other traffic fines issued outside the April-September 2016 period are payable in full unless otherwise indicated by the courts.

She added the department would unleash arrest warrants for those with traffic fines within the same period who ignore the amnesty offer, saying “those who fail to honour their debt will face the full might of the law”.

Tikana said they chose April to September 2016 as this was the period when the most traffic fines were issued.

The department was hopeful that the offer would bolster revenue collection for the provincial government.

To this end, the traffic call centre would call all concerned directly and send them messages informing them about the amnesty, so no one could say they were left out.

Also, Tikana announced that her department was considering amnesty for car owners who had penalties and arrears for their vehicle licences.

The MEC said non-payment of traffic fines was a huge challenge in the province and was hurting the government’s capacity to generate revenue. —