Outa finds widespread corruption in car roadworthiness testing

An investigation by the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) has found widespread corruption in vehicle test stations (VTSs).

The investigation by the civic action group revealed several instances where vehicles failed roadworthy inspections in Gauteng, only to be issued with a certificate by testing stations in Limpopo or the North West, sometimes in as little as 30 minutes.

“From what we uncovered, it is clear 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.

The transport department recently condemned the alarming number of unroadworthy taxis operating on South African roads, after a viral #BrokenTaxiChronicles social media trend where commuters shared harrowing videos of their experiences in unroadworthy taxis.

Outa has shared its findings with authorities and minister of transport Barbara Creecy.

“We trust that they will expedite investigations into this matter, since it could have profound implications for road safety, given the critical role roadworthy inspections play in preventing accidents and fatalities on South Africa’s roads,” said Heyneke.

Perpetrators include private business owners and public officials with financial interests in the testing stations, he added.

“South Africa’s road safety crisis has reached alarming levels, with fatal crashes costing the country an estimated R186.5bn annually. Unroadworthy vehicles are a significant contributor to this deadly trend, and the transport ministry’s December 2024 Road Safety Report revealed 16,527 vehicles were found to be unroadworthy and were issued traffic fines,” he said.

Outa raised concerns about the integrity of the testing process and the potential for fraud and corruption within the system. It said vehicles that failed roadworthiness tests in Gauteng were issued valid roadworthy certificates on the same day at another testing station, often situated in Limpopo or the North West. In several cases, the vehicles in question were probably never physically inspected.

It added that vehicle testing stations in multiple provinces issue roadworthy certificates without mandatory inspections, possibly in exchange for bribes.

“A network of testing station owners, including public officials, has been identified as part of this scheme. Some testing stations are linked to owners of vehicle fleets.”

Heyneke says Outa is concerned that the owners of transport companies responsible for the transportation of passengers could possibly “inspect” their own vehicles and issue roadworthy certificates when the vehicles are not roadworthy. 

“According to law, buses must be inspected every six months. Testing a fleet of buses twice a year can become costly. But by ‘testing’ the vehicles and issuing your own roadworthy certificates, you save your transport company a significant amount of money annually.”

He says Outa is advocating for stricter measures when it comes to the roadworthiness testing of minibus taxis.

“Millions of commuters are using taxis daily. Therefore we call on authorities to ensure that independent testing stations do proper annual roadworthy testing, not stations linked to business owners or their associates,” Heyneke added.

“Furthermore, we call on authorities to make it compulsory that the annual or biannual testing of vehicles used for transporting passengers, like taxis and buses, is done in the province where they are registered.

“Our investigation exposes a deep-rooted issue that endangers the safety of all South African road users. We urge government and law enforcement agencies to take swift and decisive action to ensure the integrity of the roadworthiness testing system.”