Twelve examiners of vehicles and administration clerks are set to appear before the Polokwane Commercial Crimes Court in Limpopo on multiple counts of fraud related to the issuing of motor vehicle road worthy certificates.
"It alleged the suspects, who were employed by the privately-owned Polokwane Vehicle Testing Station, manipulated and abused systems to issue roadworthy certificates for vehicles that were not physically presented to the station for testing. The offences were committed between 2019 and 2021," the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) said on Wednesday.
The modus operandi allegedly involved the use of the identity document of an innocent person to create an impression that he had presented the vehicles at the testing station for roadworthy tests to be conducted.
Test sheets would allegedly be filled, as if the vehicles were tested when in fact they were not.
The suspects will appear in court on Thursday following the arrest by the RTMC National Traffic Anti-corruption Unit (NTACU) and the Directorate of Priority Crime Investigations (the Hawks).
"The Road Traffic Management Corporation welcomes the arrests and calls on the courts to pass a harsh sentence against the suspects, as unroadworthy vehicles are a major contributory factor to road crashes, injuries and fatalities in the country. The alleged conduct of these suspects undermines national efforts to make South African roads safer," the RTMC said.
The World Health Organisation estimates that road crashes cost most economies 3% of their economies. Last year, South Africa's cost of crashes was estimated at R198.79 billion.
"The ratio of road fatalities per 100 000 people in South Africa currently stands at 20.5 and is lower when compared to the death rate for Africa, which stands at 27.21 per 100 000 human population. However, this ratio can increase unless all efforts are made to rigorously enforce laws and deal harshly with fraud and corruption," RTMC said.
The Road Traffic Management Corporation has called on citizens to report suspected acts of fraud, corruption and malfeasance to ntacu@rtmc.co.za or by WhatsApp to 083 293 7989.
