×

We've got news for you.

Register on SowetanLIVE at no cost to receive newsletters, read exclusive articles & more.
Register now

Despite several judgments‚ battle between Tasima and transport department continues

Gavel
Gavel

After close to 20 court judgments‚ there seems to be no end in sight in the long-running battle between Tasima and the department of transport.

The department has approached the Constitutional Court for the second time to ask it to set aside a February high court judgment which requires it to pay Tasima about R30m.

This is despite the fact that the department’s agency‚ the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC)‚ now has full control of the electronic national administration traffic information system (eNaTIS) since April this year.

The Constitutional Court‚ in November last year‚ ordered Tasima to hand over eNaTIS to the RTMC within 30 days.

The Constitutional Court had found that the contract with Tasima was invalid from June 23‚ 2015.

Tasima was awarded a contract by the transport department in 2001 to implement and run eNaTIS from 2002. The system enables the department to regulate and administer the licensing of all vehicles in the country‚ learner driver and drivers’ licences and roadworthiness tests.

The Constitutional Court‚ in its judgment‚ also found that a number of interim orders issued by the high court to force the department to comply with the contract with Tasima fell away from June 2015.

However‚ Tasima went to the high court in Pretoria earlier this year and asked that it be paid for work it performed for the department before the Constitutional Court judgment of November last year.

Tasima had obtained a number of court judgments between 2015 and 2016 which ordered the department to pay the company.

Judge Sulet Potterill agreed and said the date of the Constitutional Court order was the guillotine date for previous court orders. “Those orders are operative until November 9 2016.”

Potterill said Tasima and the department were “habitually in our courts‚ 18 times at the last count” when she passed her judgment.

The department approached the Constitutional Court last week to appeal against the Potterill judgment and the Supreme Court of Appeal refusing it leave to appeal against the high court order.

In its papers filed on July 11‚ the department said the effect of Potterill’s judgment was that it had amended the Constitutional Court order of November.

“Where this (Constitutional) court ordered that the effective date for invalidity is 23 June 2015‚ the High Court finds that it is 9 November 2016‚” acting director-general of the transport department Mathabatha Mokonyama said in his founding affidavit before the Constitutional Court.

Mokonyama said according to Potterill’s judgment‚ the 2010 extension of the Tasima contract was only set aside with effect from November 9 2016 and not June 23 2015.

“The judgment and orders of the high court may lead to a perception that an illegality is rewarded by our courts and thereby cause the public to lose faith in the justice system‚” Mokonyama said.

He said now that the RTMC was in possession of the eNaTIS‚ the need for approval of purchase requisition orders generated by Tasima had fallen away.

Tasima has not responded for requests to comment.

No directions had been set by the Constitutional Court in this matter.

Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.

Speech Bubbles

Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.