Department of Transport cracks down on drivers’ licence fraud and corruption

KWAZULU-NATAL MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison Bheki Ntuli has commended the sterling work done by the Department of Transport’s internal investigative unit which has uncovered a learners’ and driving licence syndicate in the province.

The syndicate, which is operating in most Driver Licence Testing Centres (DLTC’s), mainly involves defrauding the process of learners and drivers’ licences.

This high-level investigation, spanning several months, has resulted in 80 drivers being blacklisted on the National Traffic Information System (NaTIS) after they were tracked and traced as part of the department’s ongoing efforts to curb corruption.

As part of the syndicate, people who are known as “jockeys” charge a fee to impersonate the applicant in order to write for them using the applicant’s details.

These applicants were then issued with learners’ licences, illegally. In the recent breakthrough, three “jockeys” were arrested and one recipient of the learner’s licence from Camperdown was also arrested when trying to register their new vehicle.

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Commenting on this breakthrough aimed at curbing learners and driving licence fraud, MEC Ntuli said the Department will be stepping up its anti-corruption efforts as part of curbing road crashes and ensuring that motorists who are on the road are competent and eligible.

“The uncovering of such an elaborate syndicate is a milestone in our endeavour of fighting fraud and corruption. This is a clear indication that we do not tolerate any form of corrupt activity and we will continue to fight it within our ranks and externally.”

Ntuli said they would be partnering with other agencies, including the Hawks, in following closely some of the cases involving bribery, fraud and corruption.

“We are very proud of the officers who uncovered such heinous crimes as such an act means that whoever obtains a driving licence without earning endangers the lives of other road users. That is why processes are put in place to test the knowledge and competency of a learner before they are certified as drivers. Having been awarded a licence without going through the proper channels undermines our efforts of having accident free roads and reducing fatalities on our roads,” said MEC Ntuli.

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Ntuli also commended the officers who did the sterling job of uncovering this syndicate, saying we need more dedicated employees who are adamant to root-out fraud and corruption.

“We are paying careful attention to Driver Licence Testing Centres as we are making serious interventions in curbing the fraudulent issuing of learners and drivers’ licences. This is important in ensuring that we produce competent drivers, who understand the rule of law and who value life. We also urge driving schools and members of the public to report government officials who are corrupt,” added MEC Ntuli.

The arrests of the suspects involved in this syndicate come at a time when the province is experiencing a spate of accidents resulting in multiple fatalities, therefore, this will be a major boost in curbing road crashes. Incompetent and undocumented drivers are a major contributing factor to road crashes.  

MEC Ntuli has started a programme of personally visiting some of these testing stations to inspect and assess service delivery.

This will continue as part of the multi-pronged strategy of creating a safer road environment during the festive and beyond.  

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