A few weeks ago, we reported on proposed legislative changes which would place a ban on the sale of spare parts from scrapped vehicles.
A report on IOL News states that sanity appears to have prevailed, and this ban is no longer to be included in the proposed changes to the legislation.
There was a huge outcry from a number of industries which would have been affected. This includes the insurance industry, which is battling to contain costs. Mutual and Federal, for example, showed a loss of R118 million, according to the Old Mutual Group results announced yesterday. One of two reasons given was for unexpected, and high, motor related claims.
In response to the original announcement of the proposed ban, Viviene Pearson, General Manager responsible for Motor Insurance at the South African Insurance Association (SAIA), stated: “The proposed regulation that the parts of a Code 4 vehicle may not be used to build or repair other motor vehicles, will have severe unintended consequences to both the insurance industry and its customers.”
In announcing the scrapping of this proposal, senior transport department official, John Motsatsing, indicated that the regulations were intended to curb the theft of motor vehicles for spare parts. It would have made a significant dent in efforts to eradicate “chop shops”, where stolen cars are dismantled.
In their pursuit of crime prevention, they appear to have lost sight of the bigger picture. The impact on law abiding industries would have been far worse, and the criminals would just have found another way around the ban.
Is this not typical of so many other industries where the same misdirected good intentions give credence to the old adage: the way to hell is paved with good intentions?
At least in this case, the relevant department was not too proud to admit its mistake, and did the right thing.
Perhaps a slice of humble pie for breakfast could alleviate a few other problem areas as well. What we often see in practice is one mistake being addressed by another. This is very much like when a golfer suddenly develops a problem in his or her swing. You change your grip, and your slice turns into a hook that would have made the great Muhammed Ali proud.
The only cure is to see a professional before you groove your mistake to such an extent that you give up the game.
Please click here to read the IOL article.
