Driving schools fingered in corruption

via Driving schools fingered in corruption | The Herald July 16, 2015

The Vehicle Inspection Department on Monday accused driving schools of fuelling corruption in the acquisition of driver’s licences by misleading applicants that they cannot pass without bribing officials.

Chief vehicle inspector in the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development Mr Johannes Pedzapasi said they had taken up the matter with the Zimbabwe Traffic Safety Council which superintends driving schools.

He said this while giving oral evidence before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Transport and Infrastructure Development.

The committee wanted to know what the department was doing to curb corruption in the acquisition of driver’s licences.

“A lot of people are being fleeced by driving schools. We have taken this matter with the Zimbabwe Traffic Safety Council. Driving schools tell clients that to pass they have to pay,” said Mr Pedzapasi.

He said they conducted 80 percent of their tests in their depots and 75 percent of the applicants failed.

“Of the 25 percent that make it to town driving, only two percent fail. This is because they would have already passed 80 percent of the test in the yard,” he said. Mr Pedzapasi said they had fired 20 staffers for corruption since 2009 and closed the Chiredzi depot at one stage for the same reason.

He said they also cancelled more than 140 driver’s licences. Glen Norah MP Mr Webster Maondera (MDC-T) asked why the VID was not testing Government vehicles including those from the army.

Mr Pedzapasi said while there was no policy to exclude any vehicle, Government vehicles did not come to VID to clear the prohibition notices that might have been issued against them.