The DA is lobbying for an increase in the number of municipal- and provincial driving licence testing stations in the Eastern Cape. The shortage of such centres has directly contributed to the high incidence of illegally purchased licences.
Today, in my speech on the annual report of the provincial transport department, I requested the MEC, Thandiswa Marawu, for an investigation so that driving licence testing centres can be established in every municipality in the province.
This follows a finding by the portfolio committee on transport that “The Department’s view that establishment of Driver’s Licence Testing Centres across the Province is a local municipality prerogative is narrow and contributes to the rampant trade in illegal licences”.
I will also be writing to the chairperson of the portfolio committee on transport to have this issue placed on the agenda for the first meeting of the committee in January next year.
Furthermore, the DA will post a notice of motion in this regard during the first plenary sitting of the legislature in 2013.
Motorists wanting to undergo learner or driver licence tests get inconvenienced due to inadequate testing facilities, long waiting periods to obtain a test appointment and long distances to travel to testing stations.
These difficulties have directly contributed to the high incidence of illegally purchased driving licences which is a lucrative business in this province.
As a result, this has catastrophic consequences for our continued high motor vehicle accident rate.
Lobbying for more municipal- and provincial driving licence testing stations will indirectly save lives by reducing car crash fatalities by having an increased amount of legally competent drivers on our roads.
Dacre Haddon, MPL
