Kaunda's Rossburgh visit

KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison, Mxolisi Kaunda, visited the Rossburgh Testing Centre yesterday and listened to some of the concerns of its users. Picture: Zanele Zulu

KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison, Mxolisi Kaunda, visited the Rossburgh Testing Centre yesterday and listened to some of the concerns of its users. Picture: Zanele Zulu

Published Aug 2, 2017

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Long queues, broken-down ablution facilities and limited staff were just a few of the issues facing those using the Rossburgh vehicle testing centre.

These problems were highlighted by applicants on Tuesday when the KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison, Mxolisi Kaunda, paid a surprise visit to the centre.

The centre and others in Durban came under the spotlight last month after road users complained of being turned away or spending hours at the centres – some taking a day’s leave – and leaving empty-handed.

Kaunda said: “Most people just take a few hours off work and do their licence applications. They can do that because it is easy to access. There is a lot of demand at this centre because it is central.”

The convenience, he said, added a burden of pressure at the centre.

Kaunda spent most of the morning speaking to people who had been queuing for service, either at the driving licence renewals, cashiers or learner’s testing sections.

Most expressed their frustration about the long waits, while others complained about limited “windows” available for service.

“We are addressing the issue of personnel shortages with the Road Traffic Inspectorate. That has been a challenge for a long time,” said Kaunda.

On the issue of toilets, he said that – because the pipes were old and being replaced – portable toilets would be brought in by Tuesday afternoon.

General infrastructural problems – such as tree roots growing through walls and floors – would also need to be taken care of, he said.

He also addressed the issue of backlogs brought on by the computerised electronic national administration traffic information system (eNaTIS) – which was a national problem.

“The Road Traffic Management Corporation has taken over that, so whenever we have issues with the computers or any part of the system, we call them in to help us,” he said.

“We don’t anticipate further backlogs but we also have to understand that the (corporation) is in charge of servicing all testing centres, including those run by the municipality.”

Vehicle testing centres all over the province would also be audited in the coming months, so as to clamp down on fraud and corruption, said department spokesperson Kwanele Ncalane.

This was another issue raised by those at the testing centre on Tuesday.

One applicant claimed that certain employees asked for “extra money” to speed up their application.

“Corruption and fraud can result in road crashes and fatalities by putting people on the road that should not be there.”

Kaunda said they had managed to uncover 149 fraudulently-obtained learners’ licences and 86 illegal drivers’ licences in the past year.

The Mercury

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