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Embattled Labat may get bonus from Cape
Glynnis Underhill
August 04 2006 at 04:44PM

Labat Traffic Solutions, recently in the news for issuing thousands of invalid 2004 traffic fine notices in recent weeks, could be in line for a bonus from the City of Cape Town.

Heathcliff Thomas, the deputy Metro Police chief in charge traffic and licensing, has put his name to a proposal asking the city to formalise its controversial arrangement that Labat is given premium office space, free of charge.

On Friday the safety and security portfolio committee will meet and one of the key items to be discussed on the agenda is the city's R60-million-a-year traffic contract with Labat, which is to be rewritten.

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A report, which will be shown to the portfolio committee this morning, and later presented to the Mayoral Committee for approval, suggests a clause be inserted into the contract to "provide the contractor with adequate office space to perform the service centre function at no cost to the contractor".

The report proposes that associated costs like alterations, telephone and communication services, furniture, cleaning services, tea and refreshments, should be carried by Labat.

Labat, whose parent company Labat Africa is chaired by ousted SA Rugby chief Brian van Rooyen, has a five-year contract to issue and serve traffic fines for the city of Cape Town.

A Cape Argus investigation disclosed in June how Labat has been using eight of the city's offices at the Paul Sauer building to run its service centre operation, free of charge, for the past two years.

Concerned traffic officers complained at the time it was "highly irregular" for the city ratepayers to pay for a contractor's prime office space in the city and called for an outside forensic audit of the contract.

The current contract specifies that service centre costs should be borne by Labat.

Contacted for comment on the latest proposal, a traffic officer said on Thursday that he was shocked at the audacity of some city officials.

"To now try to formalise this ludicrous arrangement to give Labat free office space, after Labat has failed over and again to perform, is outrageous.

"At a time when the emergency services are trying to achieve parity in salaries, they are trying to throw money away,' he said.

In the "motivation" for the free office space, the report states that the processing of traffic fines is a "highly interactive process" and certain elements had been outsourced to Labat and others retained by the city.

"During contract negotiations, the previous City Police chief undertook to host Labat's service centre operation in the Paul Sauer building at no cost, in keeping with the spirit and intention of the tender.

"This was unfortunately not clearly stipulated in the contract," the report states.

The committee will also discuss a proposal to the Mayoral Committee that it sanction the swapping of functions by the city and Labat, which has run into problems in maintaining its agreement to execute traffic warrants of arrest.

The Cape Argus revealed earlier this year how 16 city officials were being deployed full-time in roadblocks to execute the traffic warrants of arrest.

This was in spite of the fact that Labat was still being paid to do the job.

This report prompted city manager Achmat Ebrahim to launch an internal audit into the Labat contract, which has not yet been released.

The proposed changes to the contract come after Labat recently sent out 37 000 invalid traffic fines and claimed this blunder was another "administrative error", as it did when it invalidated 44 000 camera fines last year.

Many motorists paid these invalid traffic fines, which will not be refunded.

Labat currently takes 50 percent of the revenue from all camera fines and 25 percent of all other traffic fines paid.

A senior advocate at the directorate of Public Prosecution, Christenus van der Vijver, was quoted in the Cape Argus two weeks ago as saying that he "smelt a rat" after discovering thousands of 2004 invalid traffic fine notices of intention to prosecute had recently been sent out by Labat.

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