Gauteng MEC for Roads and Transport Kedibone Tlabela-Diale launched the province’s mobile learners’ drivers licensing vehicle in Refilwe, Tshwane on Thursday.
According to Diale-Tlabela the vehicle, which is in the form of a truck, will serve as a learners driving license centre and will rotate around the whole of Gauteng in places where there are no established learners driving licensing centres.
“This initiative is aimed at taking services to the people because most learners driving testing centres are far away from where most people live and those wishing to access these services have to use lots of transport money to get to those centres,” she said.
“With this mobile learner driving cenyre we are taking services especially to people living in townships and informal settlements, and these services are faster and within their communities” she said.
She pointed out that residents must make bookings for learners driving licenses in large numbers together at the same time so that the department would be compelled to release the mobile licensing vehicle to come to their areas and allow them to take their tests.
She said the mobile vehicle will in the near future be flexible by visiting schools, churches and places of entertainment so that people can also get services like renewing their license discs inside the mobile centre.
She announced that services at the centre are cashless so as to fight corruption and theft.
Tlabela-Diale appealed to all South Africans in whose communities the mobile licensing centre will be available to protect it against criminal elements, and that as the department they will also be working with law-enforcement agencies to safeguard the mobile licensing centre.
“We are now in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) era, and we need to move with speed as the government to adapt to the situation and provide services easier, faster, smarter and within the community where people live,” she said.
Ward 99 Councillor in Refilwe Mothupi Makena told Tshwane Talks that he welcomed the Road and Transport department’s initiative to take services out of offices and bring them to locations where people live.
“We feel blessed that this initiative has been launched here in our area of Refilwe and we are pleased that this initiative also includes the youth, so as to empower them in their endeavours to ultimately get driving licenses,” he said.
Makena reiterated the fact that the mobile vehicle will only be made available in any area if and when there is a need for it from those who want to write their learners driving license tests.
One of the youths who passed their learners driving license Grievance Makwago told Tshwane Talks that he was very happy to have passed his test and was grateful to the Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport to have afforded him an opportunity to write the learners driving test.
“I feel excited and honoured to get this learner driver’s license because as a youth of Refilwe some of us come from disadvantaged backgrounds and can’t afford to pay for a learners driver’s license test, and I therefore appreciate the fact that I got this learners license without paying any fees,” said Bridgitte Mashego, another youth who wrote and passed her learners drivers’ test.
“I really appreciate what Madam MEC Tlabela-Diale has done by bringing this opportunity to me and other youths of Refilwe free of charge, and I used the K53 app to study for the learners test and I am grateful that most of the things I studied in the app were in the learners test,” said Mashego as she revealed that she burned the midnight oil and slept at around 4am preparing for the learners driving license test.
“To the youth of Refilwe I would like to say they must grab every opportunity that comes their way as South Africa is a democratic country where things are moving,” she said enthusiastically.