More than half of the drivers on Eastern Cape roads do not have legal licences.
Eastern Cape transport department spokesperson Tshepo Machaea said on Tuesday about 530 000 of roughly one million drivers in the province had either obtained fraudulent licences by bribing departmental officials or were carrying out-of-date licences.
He said members of Joint Anti-Corrupt Task Team (Jact) working with department officials were hoping to swoop on departmental insiders issuing bogus licences soon.
The issuing of fraudulent licences by Transport Department staff had become so acute that ”applicants” were coming to the Eastern Cape from as far afield as the Western Cape and Gauteng to get illegal licences.
”They come in taxis because they know they will not go back without licences,” he said.
The department was even aware of an official who was acting as an agent for people ordering licences from outside the province.
”It is becoming more serious and we know that our officials are involved in the business,” he said.
The problem was particularly prevalent in Butterworth, Elliot, Idutywa, Queenstown, Umtata, Port Elizabeth, Uitenhage, Humansdorp and Cofimvaba.
”Most people come to us when when their deals with these officials fail,” said Machaea.
One of the methods used by corrupt officials was to scan legal licences onto computers and then change names and print licences that appeared as if they were genuine.
The second group of culprits holding illegal licences were those who never converted their licences to the new card licence before the May and September deadlines last year.
Machaea said that after thousands of motorists failed to convert their licences last year, the department issued a warning and people were given ample time to convert.
”The deadline was extended twice and no more excuses for failing to convert will be accepted,” he said.
Machaea said the department would also be taking legal steps against companies and institutions who provided cars to people who did not have legal documents.
”Our doors are always open for these companies to search the validity of the licences. But most of them do not come,” said Machaea. – Sapa