Programme Director,
Mayor of Giyani Local Municipality and councillors present,
Speakers and Chief Whips from both municipalities,
Honourable Members of the Provincial Legislature,
Owners of Driving Schools in the District of Mopani,,
Officials from the Department of Roads and Transport
Officials from both the District and Local Municipalities,
Members of the media,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen.
It is an honour and pleasure for me to be given this opportunity to present and launch the Computerised Learners Licence Test System here at the Giyani Traffic Station today. This is a fitting gesture to the people of this area and the province of Limpopo as it is held during the month in which we celebrate the victory of women who braved the might of the former oppressive regime and marched to the union buildings in August 1956, to protest against the carrying of the passes.
We therefore take this opportunity to lower our banners in honour and salute of our heroines produced by the liberation struggle in this country. The struggle for the emancipation of this country is not yet over and we pin our hopes as government on women to continue where they left off in 1956 and help government in building the country of our aspirations.
As we hand over this project, we join the rest of the world in wishing Tata Mandela a speedy recovery so that he can return to the comfort of his family. May he be healed and continue to be the shining light that shows us the way to the future conducive for humanity.
Programme Director,
One of the challenges that we experience on our roads on daily basis is the high number of accidents that are caused by amongst other factors, inexperienced and untrained drivers. Most of these accidents are caused by drivers who obtained their learners and drivers licenses through fraudulent means. We are here today to sound a death knell to malpractices that have for years marred service delivery.
With this project we are declaring war on inefficiency, fraud and corruption in our learner driver licensing system. We know and are concerned about bad drivers who destroy the precious gift of life on our roads.
Programme Director,
Theoretical knowledge of traffic regulations, road signs and vehicle control systems are an integral requirement and part of the strong foundation for safe driving. It is common knowledge that there are two options that people use to obtain learner’s license:
- Option 1: Applicants study hard and pass the test
- Option 2: Applicants pay a bribe and get a license
It is most unfortunate that Option 2 puts incompetent drivers on our roads who contribute to the spiralling carnage leaving misery and pain to the family and friends of the victims.
Programme Director,
What we want from the computerised system is very simple, and why we are introducing it is certainly clear. Foremost in our drive, is to use the system as a means of eliminating corruption at the very first stage of the licensing process.
As we launch this new system, we take time to reflect on the importance of this service and the benefits it brings. Being in possession of a valid drivers’ licence has increasingly become one of the requirements to access the job market. Limpopo like many other provinces is faced with an ever-increasing number of people who flood to driver licensing centres to acquire a learner’s license and finally a driver’s licence.
The manual system has a number of flaws which have been manipulated by corrupt examiners and applicants. We know that fraud happens in the following ways amongst others:
- Examiner completes the answer sheet for applicants
- Examiner overlooks wrong answers
- Applicant “buys” the test question and answers
- Applicant “A” applies for test and person “B” writes the test. Applicant “A” gets the license
- Applicant copies from another applicant.
We therefore cannot fold our arms when these corrupt activities continue to damage the image of our licensing system but most importantly contribute to the carnage on our roads.
Programme Director,
We are introducing the Computerised Learner’s Licence Testing System through these ways:
- The application process is separated from taking the test. At the application stage, the learner is digitally thumb-printed and photographed and the images are stored in the system. When the applicant returns to take the test, he or she will have to match the digitally stored thumb print and image.
- The system randomly generates a set of questions from a database of possible questions and answers, and the test is assessed by the computer.
- The complete system is almost “hands free”, it incorporates the most modern security and control features. It provides an “input only” opportunity on all operational levels whilst at the same time keeping a full audit trail of all actions.
This system offers a genuinely user-friendly environment to the applicant. Questions are presented through visual graphics on-screen and answered by touching the correct image. For everyone’s advantage, the test is available in all official languages.
Programme Director,
This project is a national programme handed to the Provincial Department of Roads And Transport to implement. As the department we then identified and prioritised Giyani as a strategic point. We are proud to announce that this project is given to Giyani Local Municipality free of charge.
It belongs to the people of Giyani and we appeal to each and every resident of this region to report any form of fraud and corruption in the system. As we know that technology comes with challenges, we are investigating the possibility of having a mobile unit which can be deployed to problematic testing centres across the province.
Before I conclude, let me express my concern of the alleged widespread collusion between driving schools and driver licensing testing centres officials with regard to issuing fraudulent licenses. We are going to conduct a full investigation into this important sector with a view of developing a formal regulatory or self-regulatory framework to safeguard standards and eliminate corruption.
Programme Director,
We call upon every member of the community to report corruption, especially by our officials and the applicants, for we believe that where there is a corruptor, there is a corruptee. As the department we have committed ourselves to deal ruthlessly with any of our officials found on the wrong side of the law.
Corruption puts inexperienced drivers on our roads and the consequences are fatal accidents that are becoming a norm on our roads. We need to stop this, as accidents destroy many lives. Please join us in this crusade for the good of our people. As we leave this test centre today, we shall be examining more ways of improving the services we provide to our people with the strong believe that we will live up to their expectations.
Indeed working together we can do more!
I thank you!
