IN this edition we carry a story of the chaos at the traffic department. The story reveals how department officials and the connected few have corrupted the system to amass taxi permits which they rent out at vulgar prices to people desperate for routes. As a result of the sleaze that has been allowed to fester for years a D-permit that costs M25 through the official channel is now being rented out for as much as M12 000 per year.
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So brazen is the corruption that there is even a Facebook page where people openly rent out D-permits. Those who follow the proper channels to apply are frustrated by red tape deliberately imposed by officials hell-bent on gaming the system to enrich themselves.
The modus operandi of corrupt officials is to undermine the working official procedure to create a crooked and parallel one in which they are the masters and main beneficiaries.
Honest taxi operators have to either pay bribes to get permits or rent permits from those who have corruptly acquired them.
The result is a chaotic and ungovernable sector in which corrupt officials have appointed themselves the landlords.
Today, the Ministry of Public Works and Transport doesn’t know how many taxis are on our roads because the system has been bastardised.
Because the system has been corrupted there is no way of confirming if the numbers they have in their records tally with what is on the roads.
Our roads are choking with taxis whose owners are making losses because the taxis are just too many for the business to be viable.
As the market shrinks, taxi operators are fighting over routes. It’s only a matter of time before those fights become violent and fatal.
Those who opt to rent D-permits quickly discover that they have been turned into slaves toiling for other people whose only claim to a lion’s share of their daily takings is to have dishonestly acquired the much-needed D-permits.
They have to pay eye-watering fees to the permit owners while also picking the tab for escalating fuel and vehicle maintenance costs.
The reality is that the system has collapsed. Only those corruptly enriching themselves from what remains of it would insist that there is still a system. As our story reveals, the Ministry of Public Works and Transport appears to have given up on the rot at the department.
The tenure of the Road Transport Board, which is supposed to regulate the issuance of permits, expired last December and the ministry has not appointed a new one.
The police cannot help because they too are either corrupt, overstretched or simply have no clue where to start the probe.
Yet we cannot pretend that the corruption at the traffic department is so sophisticated, widespread and engrained that it cannot be rooted out.
A forensic investigation of a few weeks would clean both the department and the sector.
Minister Matjato Moteane should make cleaning the traffic department a top priority.
He doesn’t need to be reminded that it is one of the most corrupt departments in the country.
We know that apart from selling and renting out D-Permits, the officials are also selling driver’s licences and corruptly registering vehicles that are either not roadworthy or stolen.
A good number of the accidents on our roads can be traced back to the corruption at the department. It’s either a poorly trained driver or a faulty vehicle has been allowed on the road.
Prime Minister Sam Matekane came to power on the promise to deal with such glaring corruption as prevailing at the department. He should now walk the talk and deliver.
Sort out mess at Traffic Department
IN this edition we carry a story of the chaos at the traffic department. The story reveals how department officials and the connected few have corrupted the system to amass taxi permits which they rent out at vulgar prices to people desperate for routes. As a result of the sleaze that has been allowed to fester for years a D-permit that costs M25 through the official channel is now being rented out for as much as M12 000 per year.
This content is for subscribers only. To subscribe, Click Here. Or Sign In
So brazen is the corruption that there is even a Facebook page where people openly rent out D-permits. Those who follow the proper channels to apply are frustrated by red tape deliberately imposed by officials hell-bent on gaming the system to enrich themselves.
The modus operandi of corrupt officials is to undermine the working official procedure to create a crooked and parallel one in which they are the masters and main beneficiaries.
Honest taxi operators have to either pay bribes to get permits or rent permits from those who have corruptly acquired them.
The result is a chaotic and ungovernable sector in which corrupt officials have appointed themselves the landlords.
Today, the Ministry of Public Works and Transport doesn’t know how many taxis are on our roads because the system has been bastardised.
Because the system has been corrupted there is no way of confirming if the numbers they have in their records tally with what is on the roads.
Our roads are choking with taxis whose owners are making losses because the taxis are just too many for the business to be viable.
As the market shrinks, taxi operators are fighting over routes. It’s only a matter of time before those fights become violent and fatal.
Those who opt to rent D-permits quickly discover that they have been turned into slaves toiling for other people whose only claim to a lion’s share of their daily takings is to have dishonestly acquired the much-needed D-permits.
They have to pay eye-watering fees to the permit owners while also picking the tab for escalating fuel and vehicle maintenance costs.
The reality is that the system has collapsed. Only those corruptly enriching themselves from what remains of it would insist that there is still a system. As our story reveals, the Ministry of Public Works and Transport appears to have given up on the rot at the department.
The tenure of the Road Transport Board, which is supposed to regulate the issuance of permits, expired last December and the ministry has not appointed a new one.
The police cannot help because they too are either corrupt, overstretched or simply have no clue where to start the probe.
Yet we cannot pretend that the corruption at the traffic department is so sophisticated, widespread and engrained that it cannot be rooted out.
A forensic investigation of a few weeks would clean both the department and the sector.
Minister Matjato Moteane should make cleaning the traffic department a top priority.
He doesn’t need to be reminded that it is one of the most corrupt departments in the country.
We know that apart from selling and renting out D-Permits, the officials are also selling driver’s licences and corruptly registering vehicles that are either not roadworthy or stolen.
A good number of the accidents on our roads can be traced back to the corruption at the department. It’s either a poorly trained driver or a faulty vehicle has been allowed on the road.
Prime Minister Sam Matekane came to power on the promise to deal with such glaring corruption as prevailing at the department. He should now walk the talk and deliver.
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