THREE KZN MOTOR TESTING SUSPENDED 

In the recent weeks, the Kwazulu-Natal Province has been hit by number of terrible road crashes involving public transport vehicles. Most of these accidents were attributed to unroadworthy vehicles. 

Just last week, the Minister of Transport and his head of department announced that measures to curtail this problem were in place.

The task team investigating the fraudulent issuing of roadworthy certificates has already had a huge success. The team consisting of the Department of Transport South African Police Service (SAPS) and uMsunduzi Municipality has suspended three motor vehicle registration centres for allegedly issuing thousands of fraudulent Vehicle Roadworthy Certificates. 

The Gap, Phoenix and the Vehicle Roadworthy Test Centres have been raided by the task team and further arrests at other stations are expected. 

The arrested suspects will be charged with fraud and corruption. These stations will be suspended and will not be allowed to further test vehicles as a result of this operation, the largest of its kind in KwaZulu-Natal. 

‘This is a proactive action by the Department of Transport to root out all corruption related to the motor roadworthy testing process. We will not rest until we have sorted out this criminality,’ said Dr Kwazi Mbanjwa, Head of the Department of Transport. 

‘These people are like murderers as they aid criminals who hijack and in the process kill people for their cars. Again for them to certify totally unroadworthy cars to ferry our people to their deaths on the roads, for a mere R450 per vehicle, is purely despicable,’ said Dr Mbanjwa.  Over 60 percent of all the stolen vehicles in South Africa are reintroduced into the system through these fraudulent practices by some private vehicle Roadworthy Test Centres. 

This crime also stifles and suffocate legitimate and law abiding roadworthy test centres. 

‘The process of amending the legislation to force all test centres in the country to use the National Traffic Information System (NATIS) will help in closing the current gaps in the process of testing cars,’ said Dr Mbanjwa.

Jointly issued by the Department of Transport, SAPS and uMsunduzi Municipality.

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