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The Ministry suggested that the transgressors should be dealt with administratively in an effort to compel culprits to pay fees proportionate to the damage they caused on the road network
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The Ministry is of the opinion that the legislation in its current terms does not benefit the State much as it is not deriving enough revenue due to lux and uncoordinated court system
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Calculation of overload fees and penalties should be based on the overloaded weight and the distance travelled with the overload weight Fees and penalties should compensate for damages caused to the road pavement as a result of overloading said Works and Transport Minister John Mutorwa
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At present the factual truth is only part of the transport logistics chain is held accountable for overload a practice which renders the legislative regulatory framework and system practically ineffective It is therefore proposed that through this Vehicles Mass Bill the whole transport logistics chain consignor consignee operator and driver should be legally responsible for overload offences
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In addition Mutorwa stressed that the success rate of the prosecution of road traffic offences including overload offences in the countrys courts is very low
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“The expectation is if the process could be removed from the court system and dealt with administratively then the success rate would be increased drastically It also needs to be pointed out here that at present the courts are overstretched and overstrained but the overload offences do not carry the same blameworthiness and element of moral indignation like the criminal offences he said
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The Minister said the model for converting overload offences to administrative offences is subject to meeting requirements such as the reliability of the equipment automation of the system to limit human intervention In addition the system must be cost effective and easy to operate
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In addition he said a study commissioned on the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences found that current information systems used in Namibia in respect to road traffic fines are inadequate
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According to the study the systems are not linked to the court system thus making it ineffective to collect fees for rehabilitation of damages caused through overload offences
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“Therefore the main objective of the Bill is to provide a comprehensive vehicle load management system Under this system the offence and related offences such as evading a weigh station or absconding become violations and will be adjudicated in terms of a streamlined administrative process Furthermore the Bill makes provision for immediate payment of fees at the weigh station by electronic means said Mutorwa
