The Vehicle Inspection Department (VID), which conducts
driver training among other duties, has been taken over by criminal gangs that
are demanding various amounts from aspiring drivers. Additionally, VID
inspectors are deeply involved in certifying fit unroadworthy vehicles, leading
to a surge in deaths on the country’s roads that top 2 000 annually, according
to the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe (TSCZ).
Over the years, it has become a public secret that for one
to acquire a learner’s licence or a full certificate of competence, one has to
pay a “mandatory” bribe.
An authentic learner driver’s licence that was given to an
undercover reporter after paying a $250 bribe at VID Marondera Depot
Investigations conducted by The Herald revealed this
shocking rot that has been allowed to continue unabated.
It has been discovered that at various depots countrywide,
prospective drivers are being made to pay bribes ranging between US$70 and
US$100 for road test and RTGS $250 to acquire a learner’s licence without even
reading the Highway Code.
Syndicates at the centre of the scam include driving school
instructors, highway code manual vendors at depot entrances and the VID
inspectors.
Some VID inspectors are now filthy rich as they rake in up
to US$400 per day from corrupt activities. In Herald investigations, it was established that aspiring drivers
are being made to pay US$70 upfront for a Class Four road test, of which US$20
goes to the instructor while the VID inspector takes the remaining US$50.
Class One road tests cost US$100, which is also shared
between the driving school and the VID inspectors. In cases where a book vendor plays the go-between, VID
inspectors share the bribe with the vendor.
Investigations by The Herald revealed that transport
operators are paying bribes in the range of US$50 and US$70 for easy awarding
of fitness certificates, hence the presence of unroadworthy vehicles on public
roads.
The Herald deployed an undercover reporter to the Eastlea
Depot in Harare where he met a vendor who confessed to working with insiders at
VID Marondera. He charged RTGS $250 for the service and we are in
possession of an “authentic” learner driver’s licence number 215775LD, with
complete security features, obtained from Marondera on Monday, June 17.
“I have connections with VID officers in Marondera,” is how
our source began at the beginning of the investigation.
“It is now hard to obtain a learner’s licence here in
Harare because everything is now computerised. If you are interested, I will
take you there anytime as long as you have the $250.
“The document is authentic,” the middleman said. The reporter and the middleman proceeded to Marondera VID
Depot where upon arrival, the vendor asked for the money, which he said should
be strictly in cash.
The reporter paid. The middleman, who already knew his way around, was warmly
welcomed by one of the officials at the depot and the corrupt proceedings
began.
The reporter was instructed to fill in the registration
form before sitting for the test.
The middleman disappeared with the official.
The middleman assured the reporter, who had never read the
Highway Code, of a learner’s licence saying he only had to put an “X” in any
box and relax until the papers were marked.
The reporter proceeded to the examination room and randomly
answered the questions.
In three minutes, the reporter who had never had sight of
the Highway Code, was done. He passed the test with a good 88 percent.
The reporter had a few minutes to chat with other students
who had also passed and discovered they had also paid.
One had this to say: “I consulted one of the instructors
with a driving school in Harare who charged me $230 RTGS. He said he was
well-connected with officials here at Marondera VID offices. So I gave him the
money and my personal details and today I just came and passed though I did not
know most of the questions.”
In Harare a female inspector popularly known as “Kedha”
reportedly owns a fleet of luxurious buses, which ply international routes.
She recently upgraded from a fleet of vans which used to
service local long distance routes like Harare-Bulawayo.
Reports are that the same inspector built a mansion in
Borrowdale in a short space of time.
Investigations further revealed that the graft now appears
normal in the country with some VID officials vowing not to issue a driving
licence to those who do not pay bribes.
Corruption has also allowed unroadworthy vehicles to
operate, provided the owners pay bribes to the VID officials to acquire a
certificate of fitness.
This has greatly contributed to the high accident rates
recorded over the years.
VID inspectors have built mansions in leafy parts of Harare
while others now operate cross-border public transport, a development calling
for an urgent lifestyle audit in the department.
In view of the fact most civil servants get salaries in the
region of RTGS $600, a number of inspectors are living a life beyond expected
standards.
The development comes at a time Minister of Transport and
Infrastructural Development Joe Biggie Matiza was working round-the-clock to
plug loopholes in the VID system and curb graft.
Minister Matiza said the Electronic Learners’ License Test
(ELLT) was the best way to end corruption in the provisional licences’ tests.
“The only way to end the problem is introduction of the
ELLT. Dishing out licences to people who are not conversant with the rules of
the road is dangerous. It results in road carnage,” said Minister Matiza.
TSCZ managing director Mr Obio Chinyere urged the public to
use correct channels to obtain drivers licences to avoid unnecessary road
accidents.
“I urge everyone to do the right thing to obtain licences.
As you can see Government is putting measures in place to curb corruption in
the acquisition of learner’s licences and to plug all the loopholes in the
system.
“People should now play their part as well by following the
correct procedure of obtaining licences,” he said. At VID Eastlea Depot in Harare, learner’s licence
corruption has been managed through introduction of the electronic system but
at other depots people are still paying for the provisional licence.
A VID officer stationed at Marondera is reportedly getting
learner’s licence clients through his wife’s driving school in Harare.
A number of people pay the bribe to the wife in Harare
before travelling on their own to Marondera where the VID officer corruptly
issues them with the licences.
Others make use of vendors of the Highway Code manuals, who
connect them to VID officers in Marondera. Herald
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