×
NewsDay

AMH is an independent media house free from political ties or outside influence. We have four newspapers: The Zimbabwe Independent, a business weekly published every Friday, The Standard, a weekly published every Sunday, and Southern and NewsDay, our daily newspapers. Each has an online edition.

Driving instructors protest against VID examiners corruption

News
SCORES of private driving school instructors yesterday besieged the Vehicle Inspection Department (VID) Eastlea depot in Harare, blocking learners from being examined as they protested against alleged rampant corruption involving examiners.

SCORES of private driving school instructors yesterday besieged the Vehicle Inspection Department (VID) Eastlea depot in Harare, blocking learners from being examined as they protested against alleged rampant corruption involving examiners.

BY OBEY MANAYITI

The instructors refused to let their vehicles inside the depot demanding the expulsion of the corrupt examiners.

“As Harare driving school instructors, we are here to show our displeasure at some of the VID examiners who are demanding bribe money from learners. Imagine one of my students failed for the ninth time all because she is refusing to give these people some money,” Harare Driving School Instructors’ Association chairperson Prosper Dowa said.

“They demand amounts ranging between $250-$300. That inhibits learner drivers from acquiring licences. We don’t know why this depot is so corrupt. We are aware that things are not well in the country and we reduced our charges from $5 to $3 a lesson. That is what we are charging, but these people are making outrageous demands just to make people pass. Such level of corruption is so worrisome and this is why we have many motorists who are driving without licences.”

Top VID officials at the depot declined to comment on the issue.

Transport minister Joram Gumbo vowed to weed out corrupt elements at VID if the public supplied him with irrefutable evidence.

“I have spoken about that a number of times and I also get numerous calls from people complaining. I have told them to come forward so that we assist each other,” he said.

“I hear a lot of things, but the people do not come forward. The public is letting us down because they are not assisting us to arrest the situation and without the information it will be difficult for us to deal with the issue.”

He also urged aggrieved parties to call using the toll-free lines or drop leads into police suggestion boxes to assist in the investigations.