CORRUPTION WATCHDOG "EYES" FAKE LICENCES

Whilst this is great news in the grand scheme of things, I would like to suggest that even if one tenth of all the Taxi Drivers, licences had been checked, the figures below would be a great deal higher than they are. Making sure that the person in the car next to you is a properly licenced driver is only half of the battle! Making sure that the person in the car next to you is a licenced driver and making sure that their car is fit to be on the road - now that would be a win/win situation.

So many times, when going through a road block, all you see are the police checking that you have a current driver's licence and that you have paid up all your traffic fines. The fact that you may be driving a car that does not have a proper stearing wheel or that the fuel tank is in fact a plastic 5 litre bottle that is situated behind the "cigarette smoking" driver or that the tires are absolutely bald does not seem to feature at all.

Perhaps it is time to look at the "big" picture instead of just picking on a specific point and then patting yourself on the back for a job well done!

Regards

Nikki

Graeme Hosken

October 06 2006 at 04:32AM

Tens of thousands of drivers are about to lose their licences in a massive clampdown on corruption by the Special Investigating Unit. The clampdown is part of a huge effort by the government corruption watchdog to stamp out fraud.

The SIU on Thursday revealed major dents made in fraud syndicates targeting the state. These "dents", claimed SIU head Willie Hofmeyr, include the impending confiscation of 24 243 invalid driving licences.

Over and above these, 6 699 licences have been recommended for cancellation, with another 599 having already been cancelled. The licences are due to be confiscated for various reasons, including fraud and corruption, incomplete or no driver tests being conducted, or for reasons of non-compliance with the requirements of the National Road Traffic Act.

In addition, a total of 42 testing centres have been "ringed" as cesspits for fraud and are under investigation. Speaking in Pretoria, Hofmeyr said the SIU had been mandated by President Thabo Mbeki to investigate irregular issuing of licences, conversion of forged licences, registration of stolen vehicles on the national vehicle registration system, and the control and management of driving licence testing centres.

He said they had spent nearly two years searching almost a million driver files in an attempt to uncover suspected fraud. A total of 598 people, 38 of them officials, had been arrested and 350 people involved in the issuing of fraudulent licences had been convicted. Hofmeyr said the investigations had revealed that licences were being sold for anything from R500 to R2 600, adding that the probe had focused mainly on the conversion of foreign driving licences into South African credit card licences.

The SIU had appointed a special team of prosecutors who would be going after corrupt officials working in intricate syndicates, Hofmeyr said, adding that the Transport Department had assigned R16,8-million towards internal investigations. A total of 75 people were involved in the investigations.

Hofmeyr said that while, in monetary terms, the confiscation of licences did not have a huge value, "the assurance that the person driving next to you has a valid licence counts for something". Citing as an example, he said a Western Cape testing officer was being investigated for demanding sexual favours from three women. "One agreed to go on a date with him and was passed, but when she failed to turn up for the date, her records showed that she had failed. " In another case, the unit had discovered that nearly R330 000 had been paid into one examiner's bank account by driving schools.

This article was originally published on page 1 of The Star on October 06, 2006