Aarto traffic law, points demerit system rollout delayed yet again
This is according to the Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA) which said there had been recent fake news and misinformation surrounding Aarto, the government's plan to replace the existing criminal system with an administrative one. With Aarto, drivers will lose points for offences and face suspension or cancellation of their licences if they lose too many, in addition to any fine.
The controversial act, originally passed into law in 1998, has been hit by numerous delays. It was to have commenced in February 2024 but was deferred to a future date which has not been gazetted.
The points demerit system is not operational yet anywhere in the country, including in Johannesburg and Tshwane where Aarto has been piloted for more than a decade, said RTIA spokesperson Monde Mkalipi.
'The points demerit system and rehabilitation programme of traffic infringers are part of phase 3 of the Aarto rollout. Dates for the introduction of the points demerit system are likely to be included in the presidential proclamation which requires to be signed by the president with the date for the commencement of phase 2 and phase 3 of the Aarto national rollout,' he said.
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Daily Maverick
11 hours ago
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Samia was also probably unaware that Lissu's family, pastoralists from the Singida region of north-central Tanzania, have a long history of keeping lions away from their cattle. Lissu's great-grandfather, Mughwai Murro Munyangu, even killed a lion with a spear and, years later, his father, Lissu Mughwai, shot a lion with a locally made gun. But, fair enough: for many Tanzanians, especially the youth, Tundu Lissu has the heart of a lion. He is a fearless champion for justice, democracy and the underdog. He will be back in court this week in Dar es Salaam, facing charges of treason, a capital crime, accused of obstructing the elections that will be held in October. Political repression Lissu is not alone in facing political repression in what was once one of Africa's better democracies, but which spiralled downward after the election of 'The Bulldozer' John Pombe Magufuli a decade ago. 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Samia, a woman from Zanzibar who had been grafted on to the ticket as vice president to balance Magufuli, became president. On a trip to Belgium in 2022, she sought out Lissu and wooed him with the promise of reform and a fresh start. He came home, buoyed by the lifting of political restrictions, but soon realised that the long-overdue revamp of the constitution and the electoral system – reforms needed to create a level playing field and prevent a repeat of 2020 – was not on the CCM's agenda. Samia will run for president in her own right for the first time in October. But she is a weak candidate who was a virtual unknown before her accidental presidency. No one is in any doubt that, under a fair electoral system, she would struggle to beat Lissu. 'No reforms, no election' Lissu campaigned under the slogan 'No reforms, no election', covering the length and breadth of the country before he was arrested on 9 April after a rally in Mbinga, in the Ruvuma region in Tanzania's deep south, and taken to Dar es Salaam. For the past four months, he has been confined to a solitary cell, six feet by six feet, at the Ukonga maximum security prison in Dar. He is being kept in a special section where he is surrounded by more than 100 death row prisoners, some of whom have been facing execution for years. The prosecutors in his case will appear before a magistrate in Dar on Wednesday, 13 August, at a committal hearing to read the information, documentary exhibits and statements of the intended prosecution witnesses to Lissu. Thereafter, Lissu will be invited, for the first time, to speak to his case before the file is sent to the high court and he goes on trial for his life. 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A group of political leaders and activists from across Africa, under former Botswana President Ian Khama, are standing in solidarity with Lissu. They all need to maintain a level of vigilance and noise, even with so many other more high-profile conflicts happening across the world. It is not just Tundu Lissu who is at risk, but human rights and democracy through an entire region that is threatening to lapse into authoritarianism and thuggery. DM
Eyewitness News
18 hours ago
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Gwarube appeals to politicians not to use BELA Act as political football
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Eyewitness News
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Parly Committee concerned regulations undermine BELA Act's intention
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