adminZvamaida Murwira Harare Bureau
THE Vehicle Inspection Department (VID) 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. Johannes Pedzapasi, the chief vehicle inspector in the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development, said they had taken up the matter with the Zimbabwe Traffic Safety Council which superintends over driving schools.
He said this while giving oral evidence before a parliamentary portfolio committee on Transport and Infrastructure Development.
The committee wanted to know what the VID was doing to curb corruption in the acquisition of a driver’s licence.
“A lot of people are being fleeced by driving schools. We’ve taken this matter up with the Zimbabwe Traffic Safety Council. Driving schools tell clients that to pass they’ve to pay,” said 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’ve already passed 80 percent of the test in the yard,” he said.
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.
Pedzapasi drew the ire of MPs when he denied that people could get driver’s licences without having to go through the tests.
Glen Norah MP Webster Maondera (MDC-T) asked why the VID was not testing government vehicles including those from the army.
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.
Online Reporter