MMC praises the determination of disabled drivers

When MMC of Public Safety Michael Sun visited the Randburg Licencing Centre on 20 August, he did not expect to be moved by so many stories of inspiration.

The testing centre is one of the many centres in the Johannesburg region that is operated by the Department of Public Safety that provides an array of services to the public.

Sun said, “I was really touched about what I saw this morning. As I entered the testing centre’s waiting area, I saw that there were around six young men and women waiting for their names to be called, and among them was one gentleman in a wheel-chair.”

According to Sun, Johannes Sithole was injured in a hijacking incident that caused him to lose the mobility of both his legs and some loss in his hands.

He was previously an app-based taxi service driver.

After learning to gain some of his mobility back though extensive therapy, and learning to operate a specialised vehicle, Sithole entered the doors of the Randburg Licencing Centre on 19 August to re-do his driver’s licence with the specialised vehicle.

The vehicle operates in a very different way than a normal motor vehicle. For people that only have the use of their arms, both the accelerator and brake pedals need to be operated by hand.

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Sun continued, “I was really moved by his story, and obviously with his previous job, his livelihood depended on it. The message I would like to give to young people out there is that what is part of life is that there are so many obstacles and challenges that we have to face. As in Johannes’ story, where there is a will, there is always a way. Don’t give up no matter how difficult life can be.

“I would also like to say good luck to all learner drivers out there who will be doing their tests over the next few days.”

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