The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) said on Monday it was investigating R1.2 billion worth of corruption in the licensing department in Gauteng.
The roads agency said this related to fraudulently issued licence discs, learner’s and driver’s licences.
Gauteng, followed by Mpumalanga and the Eastern Cape have been identified as the provinces with the highest transport-related corruption in the country.
Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula said 79 government officials employed in various transport sectors were arrested for fraud.
Their arrests were a result of a 2017 investigation by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) looking into corruption in Driving Licensing Testing Centre.
Mbalula said the main concerns were inspectors issuing roadworthy certificates without testing vehicles, the conversion of false foreign licences into South African licences and driving schools paying examiners to unlawfully issue licences.
Mbalula said the SIU has until 31 March 2023 to complete its investigation report and recommend appropriate consequence management for implicated officials.
Meanwhile, the transport department said it was working on computerizing its systems at driving and testing centers in a bid to prevent rampant corruption within the sector.
Advocate Makhosini Msibi, the CEO of the RTMC said the SIU had uncovered many administrative loopholes that corrupt officials within the road agency have exploited for their personal gain.
He said by December this year, the RTMC is aiming to install a smart enrolment system on all 415 driving and testing centres in Gauteng.
“We are beginning to remove the element of the human factor… so that the system itself is able to deal with these matters it has.”