Only three out of six eye testing machines are working at Xavier Junction DLTC (Drivers Licence and Testing Centre) in Ormonde, Johannesburg South which is increasing the waiting time and creating unnecessary inconvenience for motorists who want to renew their driver's licence or who want to be issued with a driver’s licence.

This was discovered by the Democratic Alliance (DA) today, during an oversight inspection at the Xavier Junction DLTC.

While this DLTC appears to be operating well, we discovered that there is no backup generator in place and that there are staff shortages.

This means that when there is load-shedding during the day, the traffic department is unable to operate.

However, to deal with the backlog that may arise because of this, the DLTC also operates over a weekend.

Furthermore, this DLTC is not wheelchair friendly at the moment. The new space for the DLTC, which will only be ready in November will make provision for residents using wheelchairs.

Once the renovations are completed at this testing centre it will be equipped with the latest technology that will be used in conducting Learner’s Licence tests online, which will help to eliminate corruption.

The DA will be tabling questions in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL) to ascertain the following:

• If there are any plans in place to procure a generator for this DLTC so that they can continue operations during load-shedding,
• The exact date by when they will be able to move into their new premises and,
• Whether they will be making any changes in the testing yard as the incline used to do the brake test does not appear to be up to standard.

Gauteng residents deserve to have DLTCs that are free from corruption and that use new and innovative ways of improving service delivery and the quality of drivers on our roads.

 

Issued by Evert Du Plessis MPL - DA Gauteng Spokesperson for Roads and Transport