Two traffic officers, a driving school instructor and a municipal speaker were arrested for alleged corruption by the Hawks in Aliwal North, Eastern Cape, last week according to a statement by the South African Police Service (Saps).
The accused are suspected of generating thousands of rands by allegedly selling learners’ and drivers’ licences within the Maletswai municipality. A task team was deployed by the Hawks at the beginning of this month (February) to investigate allegations of corruption, according to Saps spokesperson in the directorate for priority crime, brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi.
He told FTW Online that the four suspects had applied for bail last week Friday at the Aliwal Magistrate Court. It was granted at R5 000 each.
The stream of news surrounding corruption seems to demonstrate that the crackdown by government on corruption in the licensing department shows no signs of stopping or slowing down.
In Johannesburg alone 70 staff members have already been suspended at several licensing and testing stations while four licensing department officials have been arrested for fraud and corruption.
At the end of January, 19 Gauteng Motor Vehicle Registering Authority (MVRA) officials were also suspended and faced prosecution for financial irregularities, said Gauteng MEC for Roads and Transport, Ismail Vadi.
Corruption within these departments resulted in a staggering financial loss for both municipalities and the provinces in which they reside. Gauteng lost R6.2 million in revenue from 304 fraudulent transactions just within the Gauteng MVRA.
Minister for Transport, Dipuo Peters, also recently observed that corruption within the country’s licensing and testing centres added to the number of road accidents as many drivers didn’t even know the basic rules of the road.
