Outa highlights widespread fraud at vehicle roadworthiness testing stations

Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) has put the spotlight on corruption within South Africa’s vehicle roadworthiness certification process, producing evidence that vehicles, which failed inspections in one province, were approved in other provinces – sometimes within hours. 

Outa has raised the alarm over testing centres where unroadworthy vehicles are being fraudulently approved as roadworthy without undergoing proper inspections, potentially contributing to fatal road accidents.

It found that several roadworthiness certificates were issued by privately-owned vehicle testing centres in Limpopo and the North West province, despite these vehicles failing their inspections in Gauteng.

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In one particular case, recorded timestamps show that a vehicle was tested at 10am, failed its inspection 30 minutes later, and yet was issued a roadworthy certificate on the system on the same day.

Rudie Heyneke, Outa’s spokesperson, said: “This is a major concern. While it’s theoretically possible for defects to be fixed and a vehicle driven 400km to another testing station within a day, it raises serious questions.

“If the defects were indeed fixed, why not return to the original testing station for a free retest? It’s clear that something suspicious is happening. Many vehicle testing associations have reported the same issue and yet no action has been taken.”

He pointed out that if a vehicle fails an inspection, the owner has 14 days to repair the defects and return to the same station for a retest at no extra cost.

“This is outright corruption. Our information indicates that some vehicle testing centre are notorious for issuing fraudulent certificates. People simply send vehicle details, including a photo of the licence disc, via WhatsApp, pay an inflated fee, and within hours, the system records the vehicle as roadworthy — without any physical inspection.”

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While the evidence mainly involves cases in Limpopo and the North West, Heyneke said this is a nationwide issue.

The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) previously reported that over the past four years, 116 suspects have been arrested after investigations into vehicle testing fraud, and several stations have been shut down.

“This problem has existed in South Africa for many years, this is one of the reasons we released our report. The broader issue is that unroadworthy vehicles contribute to high accident and fatality rates on our roads. Recently, we’ve seen several bus accidents resulting in multiple injuries and fatalities,” Heyneke added.

“In one Limpopo crash, photos showed that the bus’s tyres were completely worn out, indicating the vehicle had not been roadworthy for months. We believe that some of these vehicles are not tested at all and get on the roads, putting the lives of innocent people at risk.”

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Outa has submitted its findings to transport authorities, including RTMC, which has an anti-corruption unit, as well as to Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy, and the premier of Limpopo, in light of the high number of incidents reported in the province.

“Buses that transport passengers must be tested every six months, and taxis must be tested annually. Millions of South Africans rely on these forms of transport daily, making it critical to ensure that these vehicles are genuinely roadworthy. The integrity of vehicle testing stations must be restored so that both drivers and passengers can trust the system,” Outa stated.

Simone Zwane, spokesperson for the RTMC, confirmed that the information provided by Outa regarding the fraud in vehicle testing stations was being analysed.

“We’ve conducted extensive investigations in private vehicle testing stations, and investigations are ongoing in various provinces, some of which are at an advanced stage. We welcome any information that could aid us in these efforts.”