DCSSL MEC Vusi Shongwe calls for the arrest of fraudsters
By Kopano Dibakwane
In a bid to recover money that was lost as a result of corrupt activities at two Mpumalanga licensing stations, the provincial Department of Safety, Security and Liaison (DCSSL), has initiated a process of reversing all license discs which were acquired and issued fraudulently.
Spokesperson for DCSSL in the province, Moeti Mmusi, said that the decision follows information that was uncovered by the department’s Revenue Management Section, which revealed a huge loss of over R35 Million, in revenue, linked to KwaMhlanga and Siyabuswa licensing stations between 6 and 9 October this year, due to corrupt syndicates who fraudulently renewed license discs and illegally written penalty fees.
” The department has now launched a programme to recover the loss. All fraudulent set aside and wrong cancelled penalties will be reinstated for fleet owners. An admin mark will be placed on such license discs. This will force owners to come forward. Once their license discs have been cancelled, they will be forced to come forward and renew such discs again, and they will be compelled to pay all outstanding penalties, which are accumulating on an ongoing process,” said Mmusi.
He added that some officials may have been paid in order to compromise their log- in details to syndicates, but an investigation is underway to determine what really happened.
” The department is awaiting RTMC to install biometric for all officials in licensing. This means that no one will be able to log-in with the details of another. They will be using their fingerprints to access the system once the system has been installed. The department will continue to work with all the stakeholders and law enforcers to root out fraud and corruption in the licensing environment,” said Mmusi.
He highlighted that about 20 officials have been arrested since 2020 and their cases, which include fraud and corruption, are currently undergoing court processes. He furthermore said that three fleet companies were also nabbed this year in connection with malfeasance in licensing.
According to Mmusi, DCSSL MEC in Mpumalanga, Vusi Shongwe, has called for the arrest of those involved in corruption while the department is busy trying to recover the funds.
