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AfriForum’s attorneys today sent a letter of demand to the Gauteng Department of Transport and the office of the Premier, Panyaza Lesufi, demanding that the rollout of new number plates be halted until the Competition Tribunal has concluded its prosecution of three number plate manufacturers. The civil rights organisation further warned that it will institute legal proceedings against the Department should the demands contained in the letter not be met.

AfriForum’s letter of demand follows renewed rumours that the provincial government intends to require all vehicle owners in Gauteng to purchase new number plates for their vehicles. This comes after the Competition Commission found in March that the country’s only three manufacturers of blank number plates had formed a cartel and colluded to fix higher prices.

In June last year, the Gauteng Department of Transport launched a project in which newly designed number plates were fitted to all provincial fleet vehicles. According to the original plan, the project was to be extended to all private vehicles in the province after six months. After it emerged that the price of number plates was excessively high due to collusion within the industry, AfriForum sought clarity on whether the Gauteng Department would take this into account and postpone the project. Following several enquiries, AfriForum was unable to obtain any confirmation from the Department in this regard and was compelled to issue a letter of demand.

According to Louis Boshoff, Spokesperson for AfriForum, it stands to reason that the Department should not proceed with requiring vehicle owners to purchase new number plates while it is known that the plates are being sold at prices above market value. “It is disappointing that AfriForum has to threaten legal action because the Department is unwilling to make a simple undertaking.”

The project to roll out new number plates in Gauteng has been shrouded in controversy from the outset after the provincial government indicated last year that it could not provide any cost estimate for the new number plates. In response to an application by AfriForum in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA), the Department was also unable to indicate how much time vehicle owners would have to acquire the new number plates.

“At present, all indications are that it would be better to place the project on hold. AfriForum will pull out all the stops to prevent Gauteng vehicle owners from having to spend thousands of rand each on unreasonably expensive number plates,” Boshoff concludes.

Issued by AfriForum spokesperson Louis Boshoff