Gauteng Metros Write Off Billions in Traffic Fines, Demand Revenue-Sharing Overhaul
Gauteng's metropolitan municipalities have accumulated billions of rands in unpaid traffic fines—much of it now written off as irrecoverable—prompting calls for their role in fine collection to be scrapped or for a complete renegotiation of the revenue-sharing model, which they say is financially unsustainable.
Mayors argue that the current system leaves cities carrying the full cost of enforcement while the bulk of the revenue flows to the provincial government.
Tshwane executive mayor Nasiphi Moya led the charge in parliament this week, revealing that they have raised the matter with premier Panyaza Lesufi.
The Revenue-Sharing Dispute
Municipalities are mandated to administer traffic fines and collect revenue from motorists on behalf of the provincial roads department.
The revenue is then split, with the provincial government taking the lion's share at 80%, while municipalities retain only 20%. The cities are responsible for funding the vehicles, salaries and fuel used in enforcing traffic laws—and say these costs are not covered by their meager share of the revenue.
Moya called for an overhaul of the system. "If you were to scrutinise our budget, you would realise that billions are going to functions that over the years have become a mandate of local government even though in the constitution that's not the case.
"We said in Gauteng if it's going to take a while for the department of transport to take over their function, can we talk about the split and at least increase it from 20% to 40%?"
Staggering Debt Figures
According to parliament's standing committee on public accounts chair Songezo Zibi, unpaid fines totaled R3-billion across Ekurhulani, Tshwane and Johannesburg.
Ekurhuleni's R2.7bn Crisis
Ekurhuleni has racked up R2.7-billion in unpaid fines, which have since been written off. However, their crisis is exacerbated by a catastrophic administrative failure in their systems.
Finance MMC Jongizizwe Dlabathi told the parliamentary committee last week that an abrupt decision had been taken to discontinue a traffic fine management system before implementing a planned replacement.
"We characterise it as a wrong and improper decision by senior management to discontinue a system without putting in place a system that is working," he said.
Dlabathi said the city was still issuing speeding tickets, but without a working management system, collections were minimal.
Tshwane's R633m Write-Off
The City of Tshwane has written off R633-million in unpaid fines, out of a total of R895-million.
"This is a staggering amount of money, revenue that you could collect. And the metro needs the money in light of the financial difficulties outlined," said Zibi.
System Ownership Confusion
A Tshwane city official told the committee their system belonged to the department of transport, while the burden of collecting revenue fell on the metro—creating a dysfunctional arrangement.
"From a systems point of view, the system belongs to the department of transport; from a debtor point of view, the debt is contained in the city's books, which means that the city has an obligation to chase the payment.
"Aarto (Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences) and the road traffic management corporation sit with the fines register."
Zibi responded that "if the Aarto system is not working, it needs to be taken up because that is revenue where even half of it would go a long way for a metro."
Financial Implications
The metros' inability to collect traffic fines represents a double blow: they lose potential revenue while simultaneously bearing the full operational costs of traffic enforcement.
With Gauteng's municipalities already facing severe financial strain—highlighted in recent parliamentary hearings—the billions in written-off fines represent a massive missed opportunity for service delivery funding.
The 80-20 revenue split means that even when fines are successfully collected, cities retain only a fraction while shouldering 100% of enforcement costs including:
– Metropolitan police vehicles and maintenance
– Salaries for traffic officers
– Fuel and operational expenses
– Administrative systems and infrastructure
What's Next
Mayor Moya's call for the split to be renegotiated from 20% to 40% represents the metros' opening position in what is likely to become a contentious battle
