LIMPOPO – The Makhado Municipality officially opened a new smart licensing centre in Louis Trichardt on 30 April.
The event was attended by traditional leaders, driving school owners, car dealership owners and the community at large. The new station comes as a relief to locals, as the old and dilapidated Louis Trichardt traffic station could no longer meet the demands of local communities.
Makhado Mayor Dorcus Mboyi said they had taken the decision that nobody would ever walk far and wait for long periods before they can apply for their licences or renewals, in particular those in deep rural areas who have to spend money on transport to access the service in town.
The licence renewal service will happen quickly, she said, and is part of an initiative to bring convenience and efficiency to townships and informal settlements.
She said the R34m project started in February 2021 and was completed in March this year.
“Integrating these smart testing centres into the administration, offering services such as other test centres is a commitment to improving public service delivery and increasing capacity to meet the demands of licence renewals and related services,” she said.
The centre provides full online and cashless services and is solar-powered to ensure services are delivered during load-shedding. She said corruption in driver’s licence renewals is caused by “runners” who demand payment for booking slots on behalf of residents. “These operations have ceased at this smart driving licence testing centre. Here you come as per appointment and a law enforcer becomes the centre manager. This approach will assist in mitigating issues of corruption, making the process fair and transparent.”
Representing the Driving Schools Association, Petrus Maboyi said they appreciate the good work the municipality is doing for the people of Louis Trichardt. “As the association we are excited about this development, it shows that the municipality cares about its people and development.”
