Official quashed R1.1m in
traffic fines
October 10 2013 at 07:57am
By LALI VAN ZUYDAM
By LALI VAN ZUYDAM
Pretoria - A
Tshwane Metro official who allegedly pocketed hundreds of thousands of rand by
clearing drivers’ traffic fines has been fired.
The official,
Kgotso Lethoba, had worked in the transgressions department at the Akasia
vehicle licensing centre, which falls under the metro police, since 2006.
He was fired
last month for fraud. He “transferred” the names on fines to the tune of R1.1
million.
Metro police
spokesman Senior Superintendent Isaac Mahamba said Lethoba, who had access to
the Aarto/eNatis system, managed to transfer traffic fines from the original
driver to a fake ID number, thereby clearing the driver’s name.
This was done
for almost a year, despite its not being part of his job description, until his
arrest in February.
Mahamba said
the system was set up in such a way that it blocked people from renewing their
vehicle licences if there were outstanding fines on the vehicle.
“When you do
not pay your fines, you cannot renew your licence disc until the debt is paid
in full,” Mahamba said.
When people
went to pay their fines, the official offered to make the fine “go away” – at a
price.
He would
transfer the fines to fake identity and passport numbers and pocket the money.
The process of
transferring the fine is called driver nomination, normally used when there is
a dispute over who should pay a fine.
An example,
said Mahamba, was when a driver could prove that someone else was driving the
vehicle when the fine was incurred.
The Aarto
system is document-driven and to have a traffic fine transferred, one must fill
in forms and provide a copy of the person’s ID to whom the fine is transferred.
Mahamba said
Lethoba had filed no documentation for the transfers.
It is unclear
how much the official charged.
Mahamba said
the department hoped to recover some of the money by deducting it from
Lethoba’s pension fund contributions.
Lethoba was
arrested on February 13 as part of the city’s efforts to clamp down on
corruption. He was placed on paid suspension for three months pending an
investigation.
A first
offender, Lethoba was allowed to return to work after the three-month
suspension until his disciplinary hearing was completed. He was dismissed on
September 30.
The
disciplinary hearing started in March. The were delays because the official was
sick and witness were absent, said Mahamba.
When he
returned to work, the official was not allowed to use the Aarto/eNatis system.
“This dismissal
is consistent with the city’s zero-tolerance policy in respect of dishonesty,”
said Mahamba, adding that the criminal charges of corruption against the
employee were continuing in court.
Since the
official’s arrest, Mahamba said, the system had been adapted so that documents
had to be filed before a fine could be transferred. “This should stop corrupt
activities on the system.”
Four other employees
in the same department have been arrested for similar offences. The suspects
worked together and used the IDs of dead people to transfer traffic fines.
The criminal
case of corruption against them is ongoing and they have returned to work after
their three-month suspension.
Another
official from the Akasia vehicle licence department was arrested in August
after she was allegedly caught writing a learner’s licence test on behalf of a
candidate for a fee. A date is awaited for her disciplinary hearing.
The Pretoria
News reported on Tuesday that 12 metro employees in the horticulture department
were axed for stealing council fuel and selling it to taxi drivers at a reduced
rate.
Pretoria News
