“Officials at the three licensing departments in Midrand, Randburg and Sandton have increased the tjotjo [bribe fee] by 50 percent for drivers’ licences and 100 percent for learner’s licences,” alleged the man who is part of an unofficial group which refers to themselves as the Midrand Driving Schools Association.
The man, who wished to remain anonymous, claimed that normally they paid R1 000 to grease the palms of examiners at the testing stations for a driver’s licence. He said this was done so that the examiners would not fail their learner drivers unfairly.
“Sometimes they fail a student even though the fee has been paid. Because we refused to pay the inflated bribe this year, on the morning of 5 January only one learner in the whole of Midrand passed their test. This is impossible,” he alleged.
Chief Superintendent Wayne Minnaar, spokesperson of the Metro police, advised that anyone who has a corruption complaint should get in touch with the JMPD Internal Affairs unit so the matter can be investigated. Minnaar could not divulge specific numbers with regards to the number of passes on 5 January in Midrand. “There are nine examiners in Midrand, and they test an average of seven learner drivers each day,” he said.
“The pass rate percentage varies because applicants are different. Some are better prepared than others.”
When questioned whether driving school associations had laid a complaint against the examiners, anonymous simply said, “No, we don’t want them to know which driving schools have complained.”
He also did not divulge the number of schools involved, “It is the whole of Johannesburg, we are all tired of this,” he said.
In an effort to voice their frustration, the association has been passing around a pamphlet to driving schools in the area, titled #KhopholaMustFall which means bribe increases must fall.
The Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport has been contacted with regards to these allegations, however, after a week of numerous phone calls and e-mails there has been no response from their communication personnel.
Details: JMPD Internal Affairs 011 490 1797.
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