New Gauteng licence plates have been on trial for nearly three months. And questions abound over their cost and potential efficacy. Specifically, AfriForum has called out the Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport (GDRT) for its lack of communication.
When new Gauteng licence plates were first announced by Premier Lesufi in 2024, the overwhelming reasoning for them was safety. He said a new decal and QR code embedded in the new Gauteng licence plates would make them immune from cloning. And the vast majority of major crimes in the province take place using stolen vehicles with cloned plates.
NEW GAUTENG LICENCE PLATES
However, last week, AfriForum appealed to the GDRT for more information on the cost, reports The Citizen. AfriForum’s Louis Boshoff is adamant that the GDRT must disclose the cost and time frames for compliance.
Meanwhile, the department says the new system is still being piloted on government vehicles until the end of 2025. And only once final specifications of new Gauteng licence plates are decided upon after the trial period will anything be disclosed to the public.
SMART LICENCE PLATES
The department reiterates that the smart licence plates are connected 24/7 to a central database. And this will significantly reduce vehicle cloning, trafficking of stolen vehicles and use of falsified plates in other crimes. “Only after new Gauteng licence plates have undergone stress testing and debugging can a determination on costs and modalities be decided,” the department said.
Nevertheless, AfriForum’s Boshoff is sceptical of the programme’s ability to improve road safety. “As long as criminals drive with no licence plates on their vehicles, it will make no difference what type of licence plates they are. The solution lies in better law enforcement – not new gimmicks. The Gauteng premier wants seven million new Gauteng licence plates manufactured, but is not prepared to disclose how much it will cost – this is unacceptable,” Boshoff concluded.
DO YOU THINK THE NEW GAUTENG LICENCE PLATES ARE NECESSARY OR JUST A MONEY-MAKING SCHEME?
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