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Justice Project South Africa has noted with utter disgust a report in the Times Newspaper of Monday 21 July stating that the JMPD have failed to meet their revenue target for the third consecutive quarter by “only” managing to collect R301 million of their  R452 million “budget” in the third quarter.
 
A collection rate of 70% for traffic fines in South Africa is unheard of and stands in stark contrast to 30% in the Western Cape and the 12.55% contained in the 2012/13 annual report of the Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA) which is responsible for the administration of infringement notices issued under the AARTO Act; under which the JMPD is one of the only two traffic authority jurisdictions that are supposed to be operating.
 
Serious questions must therefore be asked as to why it would be that the collection rates reported by the JMPD and the RTIA differ so dramatically, in light of the fact that all AARTO infringement notices are supposed to be registered on eNaTIS and administered by the RTIA.  It is abundantly clear that a forensic audit between what the JMPD has collected and what they have paid across to the RTIA is urgently required and we again call upon Treasury and the Auditor General to commission a forensic audit as a matter of urgency.  JPSA suggested this to Treasury as far back as 2011, but our recommendations were ignored.
 
Furthermore, if this is a quarterly budget as suggested, then it is safe to say that the JMPD has budgeted R1.7 billion (R425 million X 4) income from traffic fines in a single year.  This in itself highlights and exposes the JMPD as being nothing more than revenue generation and collection mechanism for the City of Johannesburg, as opposed to being a traffic law enforcement agency involved in achieving law and order and road safety objectives on our roads.
 
By far, the vast majority of the JMPD’s “law-enforcement” efforts are focussed on erecting mobile speed cameras and hiding in the bushes, etc., and thereafter establishing roadblocks which cause gridlocked traffic in order for them to (often unlawfully) attain their reported 70% collection rate.
 
On Sunday 13 July 2014, the JMPD mounted simultaneous roadblocks which prevailed for six hours on the N1 North and South between Beyers Naude and Malibongwe Drives under the guise of enforcing traffic laws, including driving under the influence of alcohol wherein they managed to make no drink driving arrests whatsoever.  These roadblocks caused severe traffic disruption and caused innocent people caught up in them to incur substantial financial prejudice, including missing flights and paid for shows, etc.
 
It would appear that in the opinion of the JMPD, “the ends justify the means” and financial losses members of the public incur due to the JMPD’s unlawful actions are inconsequential, so long as it achieves its revenue targets.  JPSA is in the process of proving the JMPD’s thinking to be flawed and invites persons affected by the roadblocks of 13 July 2014 to contact us in order to recoup their losses from the JMPD.  Our website will soon supply details to affected parties on how to recoup their losses.
 
The JMPD have been allowed to continue to generate and chase revenues for the City of Johannesburg for more than long enough now and it is high time that they either shift their focus to ensuring law and order and saving lives on our roads, or be disbanded entirely.  Both they and the City of Johannesburg should be ashamed of their profiteering from death and injury on our roads, but instead they openly exhibit psychopathic tendencies in their insatiable love and pursuit of money.