The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) says it has uncovered large-scale fraud in vehicle roadworthiness testing, with certificates being issued without proper inspections, putting millions of road users at risk.
Outa conducted its own investigation and compiled a report, which has been handed over to authorities and Transport Minister Barbara Creecy. It reveals that vehicles failing roadworthy tests in Gauteng were later certified as roadworthy, sometimes within 30 minutes, by testing stations in Limpopo and North West, even though the vehicles had never physically left Gauteng.
“From what we uncovered, it is clear that these vehicles never left Gauteng for a physical inspection in another province, but that roadworthy certificates were nevertheless issued. This is fraud,” said Rudie Heyneke, senior project manager at Outa.
According to the Transport Ministry’s December 2024 Road Safety Report, 16 527 vehicles were found to be unroadworthy, leading to traffic fines and 8 917 vehicles being impounded. Outa’s findings suggest that many more unsafe vehicles could be on the road due to fraudulent practices at vehicle testing stations.
In response to Outa’s investigation, Department of Transport spokesperson Collen Msibi confirmed that the report had been handed over to provincial authorities for further investigation.
“The report was shared with the provinces to take the necessary action. We are currently awaiting feedback from the provinces,” she said.
However, Msibi also revealed that arrests have already been made in connection with corrupt activities at testing centres in Mpumalanga and Limpopo.
Outa’s investigation also described an alleged widespread network of corruption involving private business owners and public officials with financial interests in vehicle testing stations. Some of the worst offenders appeared to be transport companies that certify their own fleets, thus avoiding the costly process of regular, legitimate inspections.
“According to law, buses must be inspected every six months. Testing a fleet of buses twice a year can be costly. But by ‘testing’ the vehicles and issuing your own roadworthy certificates, you save your transport company a significant amount of money annually,” Heyneke said.
Outa has also raised concerns about the roadworthiness testing of minibus taxis, which transport millions of South Africans daily. “We call on authorities to ensure that independent testing stations conduct proper annual roadworthy testing, not stations linked to business owners or their associates,” said Heyneke.
He also urged authorities to introduce regulations requiring vehicles used for passenger transport – such as taxis and buses – to be tested in the province where they are registered.
The issue of roadworthiness is particularly critical given the recent spate of bus accidents across the country.
On March 5, a bus and a truck collided on the N6 in the Free State, resulting in the deaths of 10 people, including a two-year-old child, and leaving several others injured.
Less than a week later, on Sunday, nine people were killed in KwaZulu-Natal when a bus veered off the road. Then on Tuesday, a bus overturned near Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport, killing 16 passengers and injuring dozens more. These incidents are still under investigation.
Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) spokesperson Simon Zwane said there were no common factors between the crashes but stressed that further investigations would determine if negligence on the part of the bus operators played a role.
“The RTMC is investigating all factors that could have contributed to the crashes. If there are issues relating to operators, they will be reflected in the final report,” Zwane said.
He added that a meeting with all bus operators would take place next week to discuss measures to prevent further accidents. “All buses and public transport vehicles are required to undergo roadworthy testing once a year,” he said.
Outa has called for comprehensive reforms in the roadworthiness testing process, urging authorities to take immediate action to prevent fraudulent practices “to ensure the integrity of the roadworthiness testing system”.