Western Cape Aarto implementation suspended

The City of Cape Town and all other municipalities in the Western Cape will not be expected to implement the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) Act on 1 July, when it comes into effect in several other local authorities.

This is according to a letter from Transport Minister Barbara Creecy to Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis, dated 21 May, which Moneyweb has seen.

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Aarto was legislated in 1998 but has so far only been partially implemented in the Johannesburg and Tshwane metros, where the effectiveness of the system has been widely questioned.

The crucial demerit points system – which could see repeat offenders lose their driving licences if they exceed the allowed number of points – will only come into effect once it has been implemented nationwide.

Numerous efforts to proceed with the rollout have been postponed, most recently in December, due to municipalities – which will serve as issuing authorities – not being ready.

The repeated delays have led to calls for Aarto to be scrapped once and for all.

The latest date set for the further rollout to 69 municipalities, in what is named the second phase of Aarto, was 1 July 2026.

However, it remains unclear what the revised number of municipalities will be once those in the Western Cape are excluded in line with Creecy’s letter.

Third phase timeline under pressure

The third phase, which will bring the remaining municipalities into the fold and include the activation of the demerit points system, was set for 1 January 2027, but Creecy’s letter also casts doubt on that timeline.

These dates have not yet been promulgated and may therefore still change.

Creecy’s letter is a response to one sent by Hill-Lewis to her a few days earlier, and it is clear from the content that the two also spoke on the phone.

She explains in the letter: “The deferment means that the Aarto rollout in the municipalities of the Western Cape province will be suspended and implemented as part of the remaining municipalities in the third phase. In terms of the proposed implementation plan, the third phase is envisaged to be implemented in 2027.”

Creecy says the period of suspension will be used to engage and resolve an intergovernmental dispute that was, according to Moneyweb’s sources, lodged by the City of Cape Town against the Department of Transport.

Western Cape dispute, municipal concerns

While the specific content of the dispute is not known, and the City of Cape Town has not responded to questions about it, Moneyweb was told that it relates to the same issues that the metro has raised concerns about over an extended period.

In September last year, then-acting traffic chief of Cape Town Pamela Mkosi wrote a letter to top officials at the Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA), listing concerns “to be addressed before Aarto implementation in the City of Cape Town.”

The RTIA is an agency of the Department of Transport established to administer Aarto.

Cape Town’s concerns include:

• Insufficient information to budget for income and expenditure related to Aarto;
• Inadequate provision of equipment for the back office;
• Challenges with the printing of Aarto stationery by the Government Printing Works;
• Outstanding training on new operating procedures, as well as refresher training;
• The newly required registration of 3 000 traffic officers may not be completed in time;
• Non-performance of the South African Post Office, the sole provider for all postal and electronic service of notices;
• Lack of access to upload notices from handheld devices; and
• Uncertainty regarding the role of municipal courts.

Creecy says: “I am not steadfast on the date of January 2027, but that the third phase will be implemented around 2027 only after we have assessed the status of the implementation of the second phase and addressed any challenges that may have been identified.”

According to Cornelia van Niekerk, owner of Fines4U, the RTIA has, over the past three months, responded inconsistently to representations made on behalf of her clients, citing the RTIA’s non-compliance with the timelines and calling for the cancellation of fines.

In some cases, the representations were rejected and about 5 000 were not even attended to.

The company put the RTIA on terms, threatening litigation and it has since begun processing the outstanding matters.

The RTIA told Moneyweb in response that it is engaged in an administrative process with Fines4U in respect of historical notices.

“The agency and Fines4U agreed on a 14-day timeline until 04 June 2026 for the agency to finalise all its processes in respect of such notices. The outcome of that process will determine the way forward on those notices,” it said.

Read/listen:
Take control of your traffic fines with Fines4U
Managing your traffic fines ahead of Aarto points demerits kicking in
Aarto demerit system to launch 1 September 2026 … ready or not
Aarto implementation date of 1 December ‘still tentative’