The short answer
You can contact Corruption Watch, SAIDI or the government's anti-corruption hotline.
The whole question
Dear Athalie
I was told by my driving instructor that if I paid an extra "charge", I would pass my driving test no problem. I have heard rumours about this particular testing ground but I was surprised that a person who had only met me twice would be so open about how it works, how much it costs and how the examiner would help me.
I was disgusted. What should I do?
The long answer
This is, unfortunately, extremely common. As far back as 2012, the Southern African Institute of Driving Instructors (SAIDI), a non-profit organisation, was calling for the regulation of driving instructors as a way of combating rampant corruption. But the plea seemingly fell on deaf ears, and no government support was forthcoming.
In 2019, reporters and Corruption Watch researchers went undercover to investigate this. They found that paying a bribe had become “standard practice” and that “prospective drivers were almost guaranteed to fail if they could not or were unwilling to pay”.
Pat Allen from SAIDI said that examiners would find ways to fail pupils each time they went for a test if they refused to pay a bribe. The driving school industry was still unregulated and test centres across the country were thoroughly corrupt.
In response, the Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula said that dealing with fraud and corruption had to be a major priority of his department, which was looking into amending the Road Traffic Act to streamline processes to deal with it more effectively.
In August 2021, Jacob Mamabolo, the Gauteng MEC for transport and road infrastructure said that the department is working on getting rid of unaccredited driving schools, as well as eradicating corruption at Driving Licence Testing Centres in the province.
But as far as one can tell, rampant corruption in this area continues, as you yourself have found.
So what can you do?
You can report your experience to Corruption Watch:
Hotline 0800 023 45 (toll-free from landlines)
Call-back service: Sms “CALLME” to 44666
Whatsapp: 072 013 5569
You can also report it to SAIDI: info@saidinational.org or pat@saidinational.org
You can also report it to the government. You do not have to give your name when reporting fraud or corruption using:
National Ant-Corruption Hotline: 0800 701 701 (toll-free number)
Fax: 0800 204 965 (toll-free number)
Post: P.O Box 582, Umhlanga Rocks 4320.
Online form.
Wishing you the best,
Athalie
Answered on March 3, 2022, 3:49 p.m.
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