The Gauteng provincial government’s smart licensing centre in Atteridgeville has been hailed by people in the area.
The facility was opened by the MEC for Transport and Logistics, Kedibone Diale-Tlabela, last week to bring convenience, efficiency, sustainability and integrity to “townships, informal settlements and hostel communities”.
Launching the initiative in Atteridgeville is a testament to the provincial government’s commitment to act and improve the lives of its residents, said Diale-Tlabela.
“Integrating these smart testing centres into the administration system of the Road Traffic Management Corporation and offering services like other testing centres across South Africa highlights a commitment to improving public service delivery and increasing capacity to meet the demands of license renewals and related services,” the MEC said.
Resident Boitumelo Mathabathe said: “This smart licensing centre is going to make our lives easy. We would previously travel to other areas to access to these services.”
Another resident, Lucky Msimango, hopes people will get help swiftly at the new facility. “We hope this centre will bring change to our community. We often hear people complaining about other licensing centres and bad service there; hopefully it will not be the same here,” he said.
The centre provides full online and cashless services. It is estimated that the licence renewal service will take about 10 minutes.
“This innovative concept is a game-changer in growing Gauteng together through the Smart Mobility Plan. The centre is solar-powered, ensuring that even during load shedding, services will continue to be provided.”
She said the commitment to sustainability further underscores the forward-thinking approach of the Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport in meeting the needs of its communities.
According to the MEC, corruption in the driver's licence renewal process is caused by people who book slots on behalf of customers for payments.
“These operations have ceased to be the order of the day at these smart driving licence testing centre; here you come as per appointment, and a law enforcer becomes the centre manager.”
She added that this approach will assist in mitigating serious issues of corruption, making the process fairer and more transparent.
“The involvement of the Gautrain Management Agency in piloting and rolling out these along the Gautrain line is a promising approach. The positive feedback from customers at the Centurion station centre and others demonstrates the potential success of this model,” she said.
Pretoria News