Johannesburg - A forensic investigation has recommended law enforcement agencies probe rogue driving schools in Gauteng which guarantee aspirant drivers a license for as little as R6 500, with some offering this service without taking the test.
These are some of the shocking findings of the probe conducted by Ligwa Advisory Services and commissioned by the Gauteng department of roads and transport.
Ligwa Advisory Services sampled 24 driving schools to determine their services and fees and seven offered a guaranteed pass.
”The going rate for a ‘guaranteed pass’ was R6 500 and included the applicant’s learner’s and driver’s licence. Some driving schools informed us that with the guaranteed pass, the applicant does not have to study anything and will receive assistance with the learner licence test,” reads the report released by roads and transport MEC Jacob Mamabolo on Thursday.
The report also states that one driving school offered an option where an applicant does not have to do the driver’s licence test themselves to obtain their driver’s licence.
According to the report, Ligwa Advisory Services consulted with and obtained an affidavit from a member of the public, who provided information of an incident at the Xavier driving licence testing centre (DLTC) in Ormonde, Johannesburg where a driving school contacted her and notified her that she would be required to pay a bribe if she wanted to pass her driver’s licence test.
”Regarding our findings that certain driving schools offer a guaranteed pass which may point to likely collusion between driving schools and DLTC officials, we recommend that the Gauteng department of roads and transport refer these to law enforcement agencies for further investigation to be undertaken,” it proposed.
In addition, the investigation has recommended that Gauteng DLTC officials whose lifestyles do not match their salaries be referred to law enforcement agencies.
The probe flagged over a dozen DLTC officials whose assets and credit commitments were not commensurate with their salaries.
”Based on the findings of the lifestyle audits performed where it was found that the assets and expenses of the officials were not commensurate with their salaries, we recommend that the Gauteng department of roads and transport consider referring these to law enforcement authorities for further investigation,” reads the report.
Ligwa Advisory Services was hired in May last year to investigate the troublesome online booking process, allocations of slots for learners and drivers’ licence testing, allegations around “fee dumping” and operational deficiencies in the system currently utilised for eye testing. It also looked into collusion between examiners, applicants and driving schools where kickbacks are paid for issuing of licences and possible conflicts of interest in cases where licensing officials also directly or indirectly own driving schools.
Its investigation conducted lifestyle audits on 912 DLTC officials by taking into account assets owned by, credit commitments and salary information of these officials in order to establish any indicators that officials may be involved in corrupt activities.
The probe started with officials who had multiple vehicles registered in their names which were also not financed.
According to the report, consultations were held with the 13 officials wherein various explanations were provided for multiple vehicles and properties registered in their names.
”While some of the officials did indeed confirm having other sources of income, we could not confirm this other income, nor could we ascertain the legality of same,” states the report.
It added that based on the responses received and lack of supporting information such as bank statements, consideration may be given to approach local law enforcement to assist in obtaining bank statements of the officials to conduct a more detailed lifestyle audit exercise on them.
Ligwa Advisory Services has recommended that the department make provision in the standard operating procedures and service level agreements with municipal DLTCs that all licensing officials maybe subjected to lifestyle audits from time to time.
The 13 officials identified during the lifestyle audits who were unable to provide any evidence of them having disclosed their other remunerative work to their employer as required by the public service regulations should face disciplinary proceedings, the company urged.
Mamabolo promised to follow through and bring the investigations to finality and backed bringing in law enforcement agencies.
“I am in support of law enforcement agencies getting involved and ensuring that all forms of fraud and corruption are rooted out of the department,” he said.