Thulamela receives Malamulele Traffic Station

Limpopo’s MEC for Roads and Transport, Mr Stan Motimele, said the Thulamela Municipality has to budget for the operation of the station, which includes the recruitment of traffic officers to manage the municipal roads that they are going to be responsible for. He added that the provincial government will be responsible for the provincial roads in terms of law enforcement, and play a monitory role for the traffic station.

Some of the responsibilities of the Malamulele Traffic Station include application for learner’s and driver’s licences and issuing those licences, the registration and issuing of motor vehicles, confirmation of renewed driver’s licences, rendering law enforcement services, issuing of roadworthy certificates and vehicle fitness test, applications for professional driving permits and applications for instructors’ certificates.

Motimele said municipalities are established to implement projects and programmes for effective service delivery and the government machinery that is closer to the people and best placed to take care of the basic needs of community members. He said by handing over the Malamulele Traffic Station to the Thulamela Municipality, the government is responding positively to the implementation of ‘the people’s contract’. He said if the Thulamela Municipality is not managing the station well, the government will be obliged to withdraw this function from the municipality.

Motimele was concerned about corruption in the traffic stations and warned that the government will take tough measures for those involved. “Legacies of the past should not be ignored wherein traffic stations, especially those which served the majority of Africans, were created to hub corruption. As a community and government, we have to be in partnership, work together and commit ourselves to fight this corruption. The community should by all means avoid tempting the traffic officers by requesting unnecessary favours and when favours are not fulfilled, claim corruption; corruption is a two-way process. The corrupter and the corruptee are equally guilty. We shall not tolerate the corrupt elements that hamper service delivery to our people.”

Motimele highlighted some of the challenges the government is experiencing with driver learner testing stations. “I want to strongly emphasize the fact that the law does not allow any driving school to do block booking for driver-learner licences. Individual applicants personally apply at the stations to be tested for both learner’s and driver’s licences. Driving schools are not allowed to book for applications as their responsibility is to educate and teach how to drive. If this anomaly is found to be in practice in any station, we appeal to members of the public to report these incidents to our fraud and corruption unit at 0800 00 2283, as this activity amounts to corruption. I am also aware of the challenges that this station is facing in terms of allegations of discrimination on ethnic grounds because it is what we could call a cross-boundary station. This station is in Thulamela Municipality and as a result will serve citizens of this municipality and the country equally, regardless of ethnic grouping. Contravention of this shall be viewed in a very serious light, as this is against the constitution of this country, especially if it is a public servant enforcing this discrimination.”

The mayor of Thulamela Municipality, Khosi Thivhulawi Makumbane, said the Malamulele Traffic Station is left in good hands and the municipality will strive for the highest possible standard of safety on the local roads. “It is our obligation to make sure that the station is well managed because our priority is to render efficient service to our community members. This clearly indicates that the government has trust in us and we will never disappoint them by underperforming or not carrying out our mandate effectively.”

News - Date: 07 July 2006

Wilson Dzebu

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