Photo: Screengrab of A licensing official being arrested at the Meyerton licensing department in Gauteng this morning.
In a startling revelation, the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) uncovered a troubling tale of greed at the Meyerton Driving Licence Testing Centre (DLTC).
The RTMC conducted a raid on the Meyerton driving licence testing centre in Midvaal on Friday.
During the operation, seven suspects were arrested on suspicion of issuing driving licences fraudulently. One of the officials was found with more than R30 000 in cash which is believed to be proceeds of the suspected criminal activity.
“It is alleged that officials issued heavy duty driving licences to applicants who were not present to do the test. They also allegedly collude with driving school operators to have intermediaries write learner licence tests on behalf of applicants,” RTMC said.
Speaking to the media at the testing centre, RTMC chief executive Makhosini Msibi said there is a problem with greed among licensing officials.
“Our officials have permanent employment. On a normal day at this testing station, about 11 or 10 o’clock in the morning, most of them have in their pockets about R6 000, so you can imagine how much they have at the end of the day,” he said.
“And this is tax-free – what they are getting on a daily basis. It cannot happen in this manner.”
Msibi said that the RTMC was addressing the corruption at testing stations because the corporation has to pay for the victims of accidents that are caused maliciously.
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“They could have been avoided if we were doing our work well. What is more frustrating is the collaboration among government employees,” the CEO said.
According to the CEO, on an annual basis, the country is spending about R146 billion because of vehicle accidents, inclusive of medical costs.
“What causes this is that the people we have on the roads can’t drive,” Msibi said.
“We can see that these people we have on the list are not here, but they have been issued driver’s licences. These people can’t drive, but the next moment they are going to be on the road and cause a lot of accidents.”
He added that there was an applicant who travelled all the way from Mpumalanga to test at the Meyerton DLTC.
“There are so many DLTCs in Mpumalanga. You pass Pretoria and Joburg to come to this station … That’s telling,” the CEO said.
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