The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) has expanded its investigation into the implementation of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) after the Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA) disclosed information relating to the Aarto Appeals Tribunal not previously made public.The information, which includes the names of tribunal members and details of their appointment process, was provided in the RTIA’s response to Outa’s proposed urgent high court application aimed at halting the implementation of phase 2 of Aarto.Outa said the disclosure removes one of the grounds on which it intended to seek urgent relief but has raised broader concerns about transparency and accountability.“This isn’t simply about whether the tribunal exists,” said Adv Stefanie Fick, Outa executive director of accountability.“It is about transparency. The government expected millions of South Africans to comply with Aarto from July 1. Yet, the public was never told who would hear their appeals, how the tribunal was appointed or how motorists could access the appeals process.”According to Outa, it had repeatedly requested information from the RTIA about the appeals tribunal before announcing its intended urgent application. The organisation said the RTIA instead advised in its affidavit that Outa should have submitted a request under the Promotion of Access to Information Act (Paia).Outa said the RTIA only disclosed the names of tribunal members and details of their recruitment after litigation commenced.“The obvious question is why it took threatened litigation for this information to be disclosed,” said Fick.“South Africans should not need a Paia request to discover who has the authority to decide appeals that could ultimately affect their driving licences.”Outa said transparency is essential where legislation creates new rights, obligations and administrative processes affecting millions of South Africans.While the RTIA has confirmed that the tribunal exists, Outa said there is still no readily accessible information on the agency’s website explaining who serves on the tribunal, how appeals are lodged, how the tribunal operates or what motorists can expect from the process.The organisation believes this information should have been publicly available before Aarto came into effect.“The right to appeal has little practical value if ordinary South Africans cannot easily understand how to exercise that right,” said Fick.“Transparency is not achieved simply because information exists somewhere within government. It must be readily accessible to the people whose rights depend on it.”After the RTIA’s disclosure, Outa said it has reassessed its legal approach and will no longer seek urgent relief relating to the Appeals Tribunal. However, it said its broader challenge to Aarto remains ongoing.The organisation said it will investigate the appointment of tribunal members, whether the appointments comply with the legislation, why information about the tribunal and its processes was not proactively disclosed before Aarto’s implementation, and whether motorists have meaningful access to information explaining how to exercise their rights.“Our intended urgent application has already achieved one important outcome; however, issues pertaining to late submission of regulations without public engagement, among other things, remain a serious concern,” said Wayne Duvenage, Outa CEO.“Information that should have been available before Aarto came into operation has finally been disclosed. That answers one question, but it raises several more.“Outa remains committed to ensuring that Aarto is implemented lawfully, transparently and fairly. We will continue investigating the implementation of the system and will pursue every appropriate legal avenue necessary to protect motorists’ rights and hold government accountable.”TimesLIVE