Johannesburg - The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) on Monday welcomed the cancellation of registration and permanent closure of two vehicle testing stations in Gauteng province following allegations of fraud and corruption.
This as Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport issued notices of cancellation of registration for the Orlando Testing Station based in Soweto and the Viking Testing Station based in Devland, both in south of Johannesburg.
The deregistration of the stations follows investigations and arrests of three motor vehicle examiners and a clerk by the RTMC’s national traffic anti-corruption unit last year.
An examiner and a clerk from Viking testing station were arrested on allegations that they had fraudulently certified an Opel Corsa bakkie to be roadworthy, whereas the vehicle was never presented for a roadworthy test and was not in a roadworthy condition to be certified as such.
Two examiners were arrested at Orlando testing station on allegations that they had used the identity numbers of innocent people as if they had presented about 54 vehicles for roadworthy tests when these people were not aware and did not physically present the vehicles and the vehicles were not tested.
Simon Zwane, RTMC spokesperson, said the department found that the owners of the stations had contravened certain regulations of the National Road Traffic Act.
Zwane said it was also found that the station proprietors have not submitted any evidence to prove that they did not connive or permit the non-compliance of the law and are therefore deemed to have committed the non-compliance and liable to be convicted and sentenced in terms of Regulation 137B (1) of the Act.
"The RTMC feels vindicated by the decision to cancel the registration of these stations and permanently close them down," Zwane said.
"The Corporation remains committed to ensuring that all factors that contribute to fatal crashes on South African roads are addressed and that all those engaging in activities intended to undermine the law are brought to book."