Johannesburg – Twelve vehicle examiners and administration clerks in Limpopo were arrested for fraudulently issuing road-worthiness certificates.
The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) announced on Wednesday that the examiners of vehicles and administration clerks are set to appear before the Polokwane Commercial Crimes Court in Limpopo on Thursday on multiple counts of fraud related to the issuing of motor vehicle road worthy certificates.
RTMC spokesperson Simon Zwane said the suspects were arrested in different locations following a lengthy investigation by the RTMC’s National Traffic Anti-Corruption Unit (NTACU) and the Hawks.
"It is alleged that the suspects, who were employed by the privately owned Polokwane Vehicle Testing Station, manipulated and abused systems to issue roadworthy certificates for vehicles that were not physically presented to the station for testing. The offences were committed between 2019 and 2021," said Zwane.
"The modus operandi allegedly involved the use of the identity document of an innocent person to create the impression that he had presented the vehicles at the testing station for roadworthy tests to be conducted. Test sheets would allegedly be filled as if the vehicles were tested when in fact they were not."
The corporation said it welcomed the arrests and called on the courts to pass a harsh sentence against the suspects as unroadworthy vehicles are a major contributory factor to road crashes, injuries, and fatalities in the country.
"The alleged conduct of these suspects undermines national efforts to make South African roads safer," RTMC said.
According to the World Health Organisation, road crashes cost most economies three percent of their economies. In South Africa, the cost of crashes for 2022 is estimated at R198.79 billion.
"The ratio of road fatalities per 100 000 people in South Africa currently stands at 20.5 and is lower when compared to the death rate for Africa, which stands at 27.21 per 100 000 human population," Zwane said.
"However, this ratio can increase unless all efforts are made to rigorously enforce the laws and deal harshly with fraud and corruption."
The corporation has called on citizens to report suspected acts of fraud, corruption, and malfeasance to [email protected] or by WhatsApp to 083 293 7989.
The Star