Big risk with new car licence renewal requirement in South Africa

Seven people were recently caught issuing fraudulent vehicle roadworthiness certificates in South Africa.

The individuals, operating in Limpopo, were sentenced by a local court on more than 50 counts of fraud, highlighting an issue with the recently announced proposal to make annual roadworthy tests compulsory nationwide.

The case

Seven officials from the Phalala Vehicle Testing Station in Lephalele, Limpopo, aged between 23 and 67, have been ordered by the Specialized Crimes Court in Polokwane to either pay a fine for face prison time for 51 counts of fraud.

The case dates all the way back to 2019, when the Road Traffic Management Corporation’s anti-corruption unit received multiple complaints about a unusually high number of impounded, unsafe vehicles that had previously been issued roadworthy certificates from the Phalala station.

This prompted an investigation into the matter, assisted by the Hawks, which revealed that the officials at Phalala had defrauded the Department of Transport (DoT) by issuing roadworthy certificates without following the required procedures.

The officials used the personal details of other individuals to issue certificates without their knowledge, according to the South African Police Services.

Additionally, several owners were issued certificates even though their cars never underwent a physical inspection.

Having collected sufficient evidence, the Hawks and Special Investigations Unit arrested seven persons at the Phalala Testing Centre in October 2019, comprising administrative clerks and vehicle examiners.

The accused were subsequently taken to the Lephalale Magistrate’s Court, where they were released on bail.

Now, the group has been ordered to either pay fines of R20,000 per person, or spend five years in prison.

Problems with mandatory roadworthy tests

The Limpopo court case highlights a major concern with the Automobile Association’s (AA) recent proposal to change how vehicle licence discs are issued in South Africa.

AA CEO Bobby Ramagwede suggested that all motorists should be required to perform a roadworthy test whenever they apply to renew their licence disc, effectively making it an annual requirement to keep one’s car on the road.

Motorists are already required to renew their car licence disc every year, so it stands to reason that a roadworthiness certificate should be included in that process, he argued.

This suggestion was prompted by South Africa’s alarming road safety statistics, as 16,527 owners were fined for driving an unroadworthy vehicle over the 2024/2025 festive season.

Unroadworthy cars have been outlined as one of the biggest contributors to the country’s high road fatality rates, along with speeding, reckless behaviour, and driving while under the influence.

However, while the goal of reducing the number of unsafe cars on the road is sound, citizens have not taken well to the proposal to introduce mandatory annual roadworthy tests.

At best, the process of getting a new car disc will go from a simple 10-minute application on a website to a much-longer task of booking a slot and physically taking a vehicle in for an inspection.

More concerning is that this will become yet another avenue for widespread corruption in South Africa, with more cases similar to the one in Limpopo where vehicle testing centres will issue fraudulent certificates for a quick buck, letting unscrupulous motorists dodge the system while others are forced to deal with a new administrative headache.

An alternative to this proposed solution is to increase the visible police presence out on the roads with the goal of targeting vehicles with specific defects.

This is a policy that is already being implemented by the DoT in several metros across the country, with traffic police setting up more frequent roadblocks to check for various infractions.

One such example is the Johannesburg Metro Police Department’s (JMPD) three-strike system, which immediately impounds any car that displays at least three of the following critical problems:

• Worn tyres
• Faulty brakes
• Defective lights
• Leaking engine oil
• Cracked windscreen
• Expired car licence disc

The JMPD’s official stance is that that compliance is non-negotiable, and that drivers must ensure their vehicles are properly maintained to avoid legal consequences and protect public safety.