Govt signs agreement with driving school operators

The Gauteng department of roads and transport has signed an agreement with the provincial leg of National Driving School Association of South Africa (NDSASA) and the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC).

According to the department, the agreement will pave a way for stability and cooperation in the sector.

The agreement follows a series of meetings held last week and on Monday following service delivery disruptions resulting from the closure of Driver Licence Testing Centres across Gauteng.

“The purpose of this agreement is to, among others, establish and regulate the relationship between parties, for collaboration to create a platform for discussion and negotiation between parties,” said the department in a statement on Monday.

MEC for Public Transport and Roads Infrastructure Jacob Mamabolo convened talks between the driving school operators and the RTMC in a bid facilitate a peaceful resolution to the dispute relating to the e-Natis system.

“Our view has always been that the negotiation table is the only mechanism we can use to resolve problems. This agreement goes to show that we resolve the most complex problems by talking to each other and not through violence and intimidation,” said Mamabolo.

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The signing of the agreement will usher in a consultative platform for driving school operators and the provincial government together with the RTMC. This will provide all parties with a common platform to share information and address concerns that relate to the service.

Addressing the media last week, Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula said the primary objective of the transport department is to make acquiring driver’s licences for motorists as simple as possible.

Mbalula said concerns surrounding the NaTIS online system would be addressed.

“If the online [system] we launched is not working, it’s a genuine concern which we must be able to attend to. Here is the CEO of RTMC (Makhosini Msibi). If he made me launch something that is not working, I’m here, he must account because that system must work because I want people to get their driver’s licences easy, simple as that.”

Additional reporting by Faizel Patel