Today marked a significant milestone in province’s journey towards safer
and smarter roads as Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi, alongside MEC
for Roads and Transport Kedibone Diale-Tlabela, officially unveiled the
new high-tech, tamper-proof provincial new number plate pilot system at
the Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg.
The new intelligent number plate system represents a leap forward as it
is a secure, traceable, and smart solution, incorporating tamper-evident
decals, forensic QR codes, and a fully digitized back-end portal.
These technological enhancements are designed to combat vehicle theft,
fraud, and cloning, while improving road safety and empowering traffic
law enforcement across the province.
The system will be piloted using g-Fleet vehicles affixed with the
technologically advanced new number plates as part of the six-month
stress testing project, before the provincial rollout.
This system is set to drastically improve the credibility of number plates
and to enable license plate tracking within the value chain, from
manufacturer to end user (vehicle owner).
It also seeks to address longstanding challenges in vehicle registration
and law enforcement framework, tackling cloned or fraudulent license
plates, lack of interoperability with Southern African Development
Community (SADC) systems and inadequate data traceability.
In his remarks, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi pronounced the launch
of the new numberplate system is a major step and pioneering project in
the fight against criminality in the province.
“We are letting go of the old ways of fighting crime and introducing new
ideas in this fight. With the help of CSIR, we are now deploying a digital
system that ensures we able to account for every vehicle on our public
roads. Those who are using fraudulent or duplicate number plates will
have no space or time to drive on our roads,” the Premier said.
The Premier also emphasised that the province has now launched a high
calibre weapon in the fight against criminality and restoring order.
“We are ready to fight fire by fire. We are engaging with law-enforcement
agencies to look at ways on concentrating efforts on those that are
breaking the laws of the province. Through this launch, we are
demonstrating that we are going to win this fight, that is how we are going
to restore order,” noted the Premier.
Speaking at the launch, MEC Diale-Tlabela highlighted that the launch
represents a strategic provincial intervention to combat crime effectively
and strengthen regulatory compliance.
She added this was an important pillar in the broader Provincial
Integrated Crime Prevention Strategy.
“By partnering with law enforcement agencies, metro police departments
and the private sector, we are enhancing vehicle identification and
traceability.
“These smart number plates will significantly reduce vehicle cloning,
trafficking of stolen vehicles, and the use of falsified plates in criminal
activities. It is about disrupting criminal networks and improving road
safety”.
The MEC further announced this system has the potential to catalyse
economic participation and unlock local economic potential by localising
production of number plates; empower small manufacturers through
inclusion in the value chain; stimulating new opportunities for technology-
driven enterprises and facilitate innovation to enhance public safety,
combat lawlessness and fighting crime.
In his 2023 State-of-the-Province address, Premier Lesufi, reaffirmed the
commitment to combat crime, corruption, lawlessness, and vandalism
through the deployment of latest technology. This launch is testament to
that promise.
He indicated vehicles were a common denominator in the commission of,
particularly, violent crimes, either as stolen or getaway vehicles. This is
so as a high number of criminal activities in the province involve the use
of a vehicle, often, affixed with cloned or falsified number plates.
Meanwhile, to bolster traffic law-enforcement, the Gauteng Provincial
Government also welcomed 96 officers from the Road Traffic
Management Corporation (RTMC).
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