ESWATINI OWES LONDON’S 'PAKANI' E18.6 MILLION

MBABANE – The Transport for London (TfL), a local government body, has threatened to take Eswatini and other countries to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

This is in relation to congestion charges the Eswatini High Commission has incurred from 2003 to December 31, 2023, amounting to E18.66 million, the equivalent of £776 530.00.
In its definition of the congestion charge, the local government body said it is a fee for driving in central London at certain times of the day. Its aim is to reduce traffic congestion by making people think twice before using their cars. It is a E360.45 (£15) daily charge for those who drive within a specified zone in central London. It applies from 7am until 6pm Monday to Friday, and between 12pm and 6pm on weekends and holidays.

There is no charge between Christmas Day and the New Year’s Day holidays. Managed by TfL, the congestion charge covers approximately the area from Kings Cross in the north to Vauxhall in the south, and Paddington in the west to Whitechapel in the east. All roads around the perimetre of the zone are monitored by Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras. Eswatini’s cars were found to have travelled in central London quite often, thus attracting the charges.

CNN reports that the US embassy in London was refusing to pay more than E447.5 million (US$18.6 million) in charges from unpaid congestion fees. The US embassy has declined to pay up and is claiming diplomatic immunity from the fines, according to CNN. If it is successful in its claims for diplomatic immunity, it means Eswatini can also enjoy the same privilege.The UK Foreign Office said diplomats are expected to pay the charge, adding that they believe there are no legal grounds for diplomatic exemptions. It is understood that those who fail to pay the charge in time face a fine of E2 162.70 (£90), which rises to E4 325.40 (£180) if not paid within 14 days.
The charge was brought in by Mayor Ken Livingstone at the following charges:

• E120.15 (£5) a day in February 2003;
• E192.24 (£8) in July 2005,
• E240.30 (£10) in January 2011,
• E276.34 (£11.50) in June 2014,
• E360.45 (£15) in June 2020.

The zone was extended west in 2007 before Boris Johnson abolished this when he became mayor in 2011. In its congestion charging embassy outstanding debt (from 2003 to 31 December 2023), the TfL said the only avenue it could explore to get the money is to send the debtors, including the United States to the ICJ. TfL is a local government body responsible for most of the transport network in London, United Kingdom. It is the successor organisation of the London Passenger Transport Board, which was established in 1933, and several other bodies in the intervening years. The total debt incurred by all the countries is £145,411,143, the equivalent of E3 448 956525.39 (E3.44 billion).

TfL published details of diplomatic missions and international organisations with outstanding fines.In a statement, the Transport for London said it considered that there were no legal grounds to exempt diplomatic missions and international organisations from the congestion charges, which is comparable to a parking fee or toll charge. TfL stated that, under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, envoys have an obligation to respect the laws and regulations of the receiving State.

It says the British Government, therefore, expects all diplomatic missions to respect UK laws and regulations, which include payment of the congestion charge. “We and the UK Government are clear that the congestion charge is a charge for a service and not a tax. This means that diplomats are not exempt from paying it,” reads the statement from the TfL.
It is understood that the majority of embassies in London do pay the charge, but there remains a stubborn minority who refuse to do so, despite its representations through diplomatic channels. “We will continue to pursue all unpaid congestion charge fees and related penalty charge notices and are pushing for the matter to be taken up at the International Court of Justice,” the TfL stated in its report published on May 20, 2024.

The USA diplomats in London owe nearly E360 450 000 (£15 million) in congestion charge debt – with Japan and India the next two worst offenders, transport bosses have revealed.
Ministers revealed in Parliament last September that foreign diplomats in London owed nearly E3.6 billion (£150 million) in congestion charge debt, but the full breakdown by country has now emerged. Junior foreign minister David Rutley said at the time: “We consider that there are no legal grounds to exempt diplomatic missions and international organisations from the London congestion charge, which is comparable to a parking fee or toll charge they are required to pay.”

Responded

The Eswatini High Commission in London had not responded to our questionnaire by 7pm yesterday. Newman Ntshangase, the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, said this matter had not been brought to their attention. The principal secretary said they would reach out to the high commission in London to establish the merits of this matter that this newspaper was bringing to their attention. He said, what they knew as a general rule in international law and practice on diplomatic privileges and immunities, was that diplomatic missions ‘are exempt from domestic taxes of this kind’.

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