MEC Tlabela-Diale conducts unannounced visit to Midrand DLTC
Gauteng MEC for Transport and Logistics MEC Kedibone Diale-Tlabela today conducted an unannounced visit to the Midrand Testing Station in the City of Johannesburg.
The visit is part of the department’s efforts of fighting crime and corruption at the testing centres.
The MEC will be carrying out similar visits at various testing centres as the department aims to tighten loopholes that make it possible for corruption to thrive following the forensic report into allegations of corruption, collusion and fronting at all testing centres across the province.
"This unannounced visit is part of our efforts to root-out alleged corrupt activities at our testing centres. As a result, these corrupt activities not only hamper on service delivery, but it is also felt on our roads with the high carnage due to some incompetent drivers," she said.
MEC Diale-Tlabela emphasised on new ways of service provision and adapting to new technology. She expressed concern on the manual filing system used at the Midrand centre and implored on the management team to upscale production and output through improving on their effectiveness and efficiencies.
Noting that industry related State-Owned Entities are migrating into the DLTC space, MEC encouraged healthy competition as a yardstick of change, innovation, and modernisation considering the monitoring and evaluation of relations as well as signed Service Level Agreements.
She also emphasised on taking testing centres to the people as a maximum programme of a people-centred service.
The Department appointed Ligwa Consulting to lead investigations into allegations of corruption at the Testing Centres in 2021.
"As the forensic report indicated, the fraudulent activities and corruption are allegedly facilitated by our officials working with outside intermediaries. In other instances, officials employed at registration authorities offered preferential services to those who did not want to stand in queues in exchange for a fee. We need to double our corruption fighting efforts to bring an end to this, " MEC Diale-Tlabela said.
The findings of the forensic report included the following amongst others:
• Motorists, allegedly, are not paying arrears owed, instead they are transferring ownership of motor vehicles to deceased persons, shelf entities, or even random individuals in cahoots with/assistance of licensing officials.
• Investigations uncovered a total of 4912 potential fee dumping transactions within the province between the period 01 January 2008 to 31 March 2016, to the value of approximately R39 million.
• Several driving schools offered a “guaranteed pass” where applicants did not have to do any studying or test.
• The production, by runners, of fraudulent eye test certificates using registered optometrists’ details and the sale of these to members of the public.
For more information, please contact Ms Melitah Madiba on 073 644 9935 or Mr Lesiba Mpya on 078 314 7987
Source: Government of South Africa