Gauteng wages war against corruption at drivers licence centres

Public Transport and Road Infrastructure MEC Jacob Mamabolo says a forensic company is to be appointed to probe allegations of conflict of interest by officials, bribery and manipulation of the booking systems at driving licence test centres in the province. Picture: Jacques Naude/African News Agency (ANA)

Public Transport and Road Infrastructure MEC Jacob Mamabolo says a forensic company is to be appointed to probe allegations of conflict of interest by officials, bribery and manipulation of the booking systems at driving licence test centres in the province. Picture: Jacques Naude/African News Agency (ANA)

Published Mar 19, 2021

Share

Johannesburg - Gauteng Department of Public Transport and Roads Infrastructure is waging a war against the alleged ongoing corruption across driving licence test centres in the province.

Public Transport and Road Infrastructure MEC Jacob Mamabolo has revealed that a forensic company is to be appointed to probe allegations of conflict of interest by officials, bribery and manipulation of the booking systems.

This comes after driving school owners voiced their frustrations with Mamabolo over the “troublesome” online booking system they are faced with. They argued that the online booking system was inadequate and only allowed them to make bookings once a week, making it impossible for them to attract more customers.

It also emerged that officials at testing centres were allegedly manipulating the online booking system.

In an attempt to combat the illegal activities, Mamabolo, the Road Traffic Management Corporation and driving school associations have now agreed to establish a “stakeholder forum” to be chaired by the MEC, which will meet monthly.

According to Mamabolo, the forum will provide a platform for interaction and engagement for all parties, where matters of mutual interest will be discussed. “These will include the regulation and formalisation of the industry, allegations of collusion and corrupt practices involving officials, service delivery improvements and challenges related to introduction of the Natis electronic booking system,” Mamabolo said.

He said the department was aware of challenges faced by driving schools and the public brought about “by the advent of 4th Industrial Revolution interventions”.

“Whilst we understand the frustrations faced by the sector with the introduction of the online booking system, as a department, we are expected to embrace new technologies that are reshaping public transport services,” Mamabolo said.

The monthly forum will conduct performance review and evaluation of each testing centre to determine levels of performance and service delivery.

“There’s a greater need to create a database of driving schools operating in the province to curb illegal activities at driving licence test centres, including the so-called runners.”

However, the DA’s Fred Nel called for an audit to determine how many slots were available per driving licence testing centre in the province per day, and how many of these slots were made available for online bookings.

“This causes many instances of corruption, where driving schools and members of the public bribe officials at licensing offices to reserve slots for them or inform them the moment slots are loaded on to the system,” he said.

Nel added that it was also critical that the MEC engaged with Transport Minster Fikile Mbalula to extend the validity period of learner licences to avoid unnecessary lapsing of these licences, leading to further pressure on the system due to rewrites.

“Law-abiding citizens find very few slots available for them to book. This crisis requires immediate attention and can no longer be ignored, as the delay in issuing of licences has dire consequences for the province's economy and the livelihoods of residents in the province,” Nel said.

Related Topics: