The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) has broadened its investigation into the implementation of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO) after the Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA) disclosed information relating to the AARTO Appeals Tribunal that had not previously been provided to OUTA.
The information, including the names of Tribunal members and details of their appointment process, was provided in RTIA’s response to OUTA’s proposed urgent High Court application to halt the implementation of Phase 2 of AARTO.
While this removes one of the grounds upon which OUTA intended to seek urgent relief, it raises a more fundamental concern about transparency and accountability.
OUTA says the public should never have been left wondering whether the Appeals Tribunal existed, who served on it, or how motorists would exercise their right to appeal under the amended AARTO system.
“This isn’t simply about whether the Tribunal exists,” says Adv Stefanie Fick, OUTA Executive Director of Accountability.
“It is about transparency. Government expected millions of South Africans to comply with AARTO from 1 July. Yet, the public was never proactively told who would hear their appeals, how the Tribunal was appointed or how motorists could access the appeals process.”
Before announcing its intended urgent application, OUTA repeatedly requested information from RTIA regarding the Appeals Tribunal. Rather than providing the information, RTIA advised in its affidavit that OUTA should have submitted a request in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA).
Only once litigation commenced did RTIA provide OUTA with the names of Tribunal members and details of their recruitment.
“The obvious question is why it took threatened litigation for this information to be disclosed,” says Fick.
“South Africans should not need a PAIA request to discover who has the authority to decide appeals that could ultimately affect their driving licences.”
Why transparency matters
OUTA says transparency is a cornerstone of good governance, particularly where legislation creates new rights, obligations and administrative processes affecting millions of people.
Although RTIA has now confirmed that the Appeals Tribunal exists, OUTA notes that there is still no readily accessible information on RTIA’s website explaining who serves on the Tribunal, how appeals are lodged, how the Tribunal operates or what motorists can expect from the process.
The organisation believes that information of this nature should have been publicly available before AARTO came into operation.
“The right to appeal has little practical value if ordinary South Africans cannot easily understand how to exercise that right,” says Fick.
“Transparency is not achieved simply because information exists somewhere within government. It must be readily accessible to the people whose rights depend on it.”
OUTA’s investigation continues
Having received further information from RTIA, OUTA has reassessed the appropriate legal route regarding the Appeals Tribunal. The organisation will therefore not proceed with urgent relief on this ground but says its broader challenge to AARTO is continuing.
OUTA will now conduct a full investigation into the appointment of the Appeals Tribunal, whether the appointments comply with the legislation, why the Tribunal and its processes were not proactively disclosed before implementation, and whether motorists have meaningful access to information explaining how to exercise their rights under AARTO.
“Our intended urgent application has already achieved one important outcome; however, issues pertaining to late submission of regulations without public engagement, amongst other things, remain a serious concern,” says Wayne Duvenage, OUTA CEO.
“Information that should have been available before AARTO came into operation has finally been disclosed. That answers one question, but it raises several more.”
“OUTA remains committed to ensuring that AARTO is implemented lawfully, transparently and fairly. We will continue investigating the implementation of the system and will pursue every appropriate legal avenue necessary to protect motorists’ rights and hold government accountable.”
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