With the festive season just around the corner and a massive backlog when it comes to license renewals, Gauteng Transport MEC Jacob Mamabolo on Wednesday said he was worried about the level of corruption and bribery in the licensing system.
He calls the process a nightmare, acknowledging it leaves motorists with no choice but to bribe their way through the system all the way from obtaining a driver’s licence to renewing it and paying for their vehicle discs.
Thousands of motorists in Gauteng are driving around with expired licences largely because of the backlog created by the closure of centres during the hard lockdown.
“You must take leave from work to go and renew your licence. You need to have food to go camp there,” Mamabolo said.
This is not a new phenomenon, renewing your driver’s license or vehicle disk has been a nightmare for years, but this year it’s even worse as a result of the lockdown.
With less than two months before the festive season, which usually sees a large number of motorists driving long distances, this might create an even bigger problem.
Mamabolo said the level of corruption was very concerning: “So you bribe all the way, they call it the cost of Coke.”
But Justice Project South Africa’s Howard Dembovsky said this was no laughing matter, there must be a smarter and easier way to issue licences.
“Corruption is no joking matter and it’s time our officials started taking these crimes very seriously.”
With just a few weeks left before the December festivities start kicking in, many are concerned about the impact the backlog will have on motorists who only have a 21-day grace period before their licence becomes invalid.
-EWN
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