Mbalula cracks whip on alleged corruption at licence centres
TRANSPORT Minister Fikile Mbalula has expressed concern at preliminary investigations suggesting that corruption is the reason for the unavailability of booking slots at various Driving Licence Testing Centres (DLTCs) in Gauteng.
He had a meeting with the authorities involved in DLTC operations across all three spheres of government in Gauteng following a growing stream of complaints received in respect of operations in the province’s centres.
Minister Mbalula said that the department had been paying attention to the challenges confronting DLTCs across the country, and the impact to the livelihoods of those “who require these services to put bread on the table.”
“The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic laid bare these challenges, most of which are a consequence of corruption in the system,” said Mbalula.
This comes after members of the National Driving School Association of SA (NDSASA) protested in February, calling for the online booking system to be scrapped in Gauteng.
Mbalula said that the department had taken heed of the plethora of complaints by members of the public, and engaged in decisive action to address the issues raised.
“We are gravely concerned that preliminary investigations suggest that corruption is the principal driver of lack of availability of booking slots in various DLTCs across Gauteng. Learner and driver licensing remain a pervasive challenge, particularly in Gauteng,” the minister said.
He said that the department was paying particular attention to the rollout of online services in a manner that improves efficiencies and minimises the time that the end-user spends in a queue.
“The ultimate end goal is to eliminate these queues, once the full bouquet of online services has been successfully rolled out by the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC),” Mbalula said.
The minister called on the RTMC and DLTCs to give infrastructural urgent priority.
Mbablua said the RTMC, working with licensing authorities, will intervene in the slot allocation challenge by rolling out the online booking platform – created as part of a broader strategy to improve service delivery at DLTCs.