The RTMC’s Billion-Rand Secret

• RTMC refuses to disclose how transaction fees are determined, choosing secrecy and legal battles over public accountability

OUTA has battled for more than two years to find out how the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) determines its transaction fees for motorists, yet the RTMC remains determined to keep this information from the public – even willing to go to court to do so.

Every time South Africans apply for essential road-related services, transaction fees are charged. However, how these fees are calculated and justified remains a mystery. The RTMC collects these fees in addition to those charged by provinces for the same services, yet refuses to provide clarity on the process behind them.

OUTA has consistently pushed for transparency, demanding that the RTMC disclose the basis of these charges. But instead of providing answers, the RTMC has opted for secrecy and legal delays.

“The RTMC is responsible for managing critical road-related services, yet they refuse to be transparent about the costs they impose on the public. If they have nothing to hide, why are they going to such lengths to block access to this information?” says Advocate Stefanie Fick, Executive Director of OUTA’s Accountability Division.

“The RTMC’s strategy is to delay as much as possible, challenge us at every point and cost us unnecessary legal fees, all to avoid accountability.”

The RTMC, a state-owned entity under the Department of Transport, is mandated to improve road safety.

However, its records reveal a massive accumulation of funds from these fees.In 2023/24, the RTMC collected R948.691 million in transaction fees, according to the RTMC annual report. That’s nearly R1 billion. That year, the government grant to RTMC was R220.104 million, and the RTMC ended the year with a surplus of R141.910 million, bringing its accumulated surplus to R1.090 billion.

The fight for transparency: a timeline

• November 2022: OUTA submitted a Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) request to RTMC, asking for the RTMC’s internal documents detailing how the fees are calculated, and how the collected fees are distributed.
• January 2023: RTMC refused to provide the fee explanation, saying this was internal documentation and that the RTMC had considered OUTA comments on the draft regulations at the time. On the revenue distribution, the RTMC referred OUTA to its annual reports. OUTA submitted an internal appeal for the refused documents.
• April 2023: The RTMC rejected OUTA’s internal appeal, so OUTA escalated the matter to the Information Regulator, saying that access to the information was in the public interest.
• April 2024: The Information Regulator investigated and its investigation report ruled in OUTA’s favour. This report was then challenged by the RTMC.
• 6 February 2025: The Information Regulator issued an enforcement order compelling the RTMC to release the information within 30 days.
• 20 February 2025: The RTMC did not provide the information, and instead told the Information Regulator it will challenge the enforcement order in court. It has 180 days from the enforcement order to file court papers.

This is not the first time RTMC has refused to provide key documents.

OUTA’s November 2022 PAIA request to the RTMC, included a request for the RTMC’s research on the extension of driver’s licence validity periods. The RTMC initially claimed that such research existed but later admitted that the documents did not exist. This raised serious concerns about the legitimacy of their claims and decision-making processes.

If RTMC has a history of claiming documents exist when they do not, how can the public trust them now? The refusal to disclose transaction fee calculations follows a worrying trend of avoiding transparency and accountability.

“The public deserves full transparency regarding the costs they are required to pay for essential services. By refusing to disclose this information, the RTMC undermines the principles of accountability and public trust. Government agencies must act in the best interests of the citizens they serve, not operate in secrecy to protect undisclosed agendas,” says Fick.

OUTA will continue to challenge this secrecy.