City of Cape Town is better off without Aarto Act, says JP Smith
The City of Cape Town plans to oppose the implementation of the controversial Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) Act.
The new Act, which President Cyril Ramaphosa has signed into law, will see the implementation of a demerit system that could see drivers losing their licence in the event they accumulate too many demerit points.
The City and the Western Cape government are joining forces to fight the Act in their area of jurisdiction.
The City's mayco member for safety and security JP Smith, says local and provincial governments are prepared to go to court to prove the deficiencies within the Arto system.
Smith says the technical and administrative process behind the legislation does not inspire confidence.
Not a single point demerit system has been recorded to date and there are numerous deficiencies with the Aarto process, including the technical systems on which it rests.
JP Smith, Mayoral committee member - Safety and security at City of Cape Town
According to Smith, Aarto pilot phases implemented in Tshwane and Johannesburg have failed to reduce road fatalities in Gauteng.
Their road traffic accident figures and death toll have increased steadily. Whereas Cape Town, where Aarto has not been applied, has been able to stabilise or reduce.
JP Smith, Mayoral committee member - Safety and security at City of Cape Town
At this stage, we are better off without Aarto until they fix all those issues. We don't believe that it's ready to implement.
JP Smith, Mayoral committee member - Safety and security at City of Cape Town
Listen to the discussion on Today with Kieno Kammies:
More from Local

Govt again 'letting poor down, badly, callously, obscenely' says John Maytham
John Maytham vents about temporarily disabled people having to stand in long queues and getting water cannons fired at them.
Read More
[VIDEOS] Police spray Sassa grant queue in Bellville with water cannons
Journalist Saawmiet Moos in Belville describes people queuing for Sassa social grants sprayed with police water cannons.
Read More
'Eskom has again been grossly caught with their pants around their ankles'
Energy analyst Ted Blom says Eskom doesn't report the additional shedding of VLS clients totaling an over 4000-megawatt shortfall.
Read More
Can you get a new South African passport right now?
W Cape Home Affairs' Sam Plaatjies says no, but the department has the discretion to renew passports on a case-by-case basis.
Read More
Meet Dr Emmanuel Taban, a leading pulmonologist in SA's fight against Covid-19
Dr. Emmanuel Taban, a pulmonologist at Mediclinic Midstream, has become well-known for his novel methods in the treatment of Covid-19 patients.
Read More
DBE postpones the reopening of schools to 15 February
The Department of Basic Education (DBE) has confirmed that schools will reopen in mid-February and not on 27 January as initially planned.
Read More
We can't extend temporary disability grants again, says Sassa CEO
The CEO of the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) says the agency can't extend the validity of temporary disability grants that have lapsed any further.
Read More
SGB associations don't support plans to delay reopening of high schools - Fedsas
The national coronavirus command council (NCCC) has recommended that the reopening of high schools be postponed to 15 February 2021.
Read More
Don't fall for promises of high returns from latest investment scam, warns FSCA
A new scam is surfacing on Facebook and WhatsApp groups. The masterminds are even using the FSP number of a legitimate company.
Read More
'Thank you Mr President for not shutting us down, but we need more support!'
Loadshedding is another blow to the struggling restaurant industry. We need more relief says Grace Harding (Restaurant Collective)
Read More