Durban - Twenty officials were arrested on
fraud charges for helping people pass
their driving licence tests at a Midlands
testing centre.
The 20 were arrested in an ongoing national investigation by the Road Traffic Management Corporation’s (RTMC) National Traffic Anti-Corruption Unit and the Hawks.
Among those arrested was administrative clerk Thandazile Shelembe, one of 16 officials arrested at the uMngeni Driver’s Licence Testing Centre in
Howick.
She has pleaded guilty to charges of fraud and will be sentenced on Monday in the Durban Commercial Crimes Court.
From the same office, learner's licence examiner Waheed Monsoor will go on trial following an investigation into licence fraud.
Monsoor has already been found guilty by an internal disciplinary
tribunal.
RTMC spokesperson Thulani Zwane said Monsoor was accused of filling in eye test sheets for learner's licence applicants.
“Monsoor has been criminally charged and her trial is set down for February 2020.”
According to stats issued by RTMC, five officials, including the clerk, were arrested for learner's licence fraud, and one cleaner/groundsperson was arrested for participating in fraudulent activities regarding learner's licences.
The stats also reveal that nine applicants for learner's licence tests were arrested for committing fraud.
The chief in charge of the Howick Test Centre, Roger Everton, was among those arrested for learner's licence fraud.
According to the RTMC, it was discovered that seven Howick officials had fraudulently aided 544 learner's licence applicants obtain their licences without their knowledge being tested during a period of one month (February to March 2018).
According to the RTMC, the cleaner/groundsperson was acquitted on the charge of fraud because the licence applicant implicated could not be traced due to fraudulent information on the application form found in her possession on the day of her arrest.
In addition, eight employees arrested have also been put through internal disciplinary processes; all were found guilty on the charges and dismissed.
The nine learner's licence applicants pleaded guilty to fraud charges and were sentenced, while Everton has made a representation for a plea bargain to the court.
Zwane said they would intensify their efforts in the coming months.
“We have done an audit in some provinces and we have a clear understanding of the issues. We understand the modus operandi that is used and we are now ready, willing and able to deal with this scourge.
"We owe it to the future generations to deal with corruption decisively and make the roads safer to travel on.”
KZN transport department spokesperson Kwanele Ncalane said the department was committed to dealing with licence fraud to save lives on the roads.
“Central to this is our commitment to rooting out crime and fraud in our testing centres. We have had to shut down some centres and even arrested our own in a bid to save lives on the road. Our belief is that anyone who obtains learner's or driving licences fraudulently is posing a high risk to other road users, hence they are being dealt with seriously.”
He said the department had signed an agreement with driving schools to address fraud and corruption.
Ncalane said the uMngeni test station was partially reopened after a few staff were seconded to work there pending the investigation.