Latest news with #Heyneke
Daily Maverick
14-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Maverick
Drive to survive — the cost of SA's road safety crisis
South Africa's roads are a death trap — claiming nearly 12,000 lives a year, draining 3% of GDP and enabling corruption through fake vehicle roadworthiness checks. With failing infrastructure, rigged testing stations and weak roadworthiness inspection enforcement, every fake certificate risks another fatal crash. As investigations begin, will the government finally steer policy in the right direction — or keep driving blind? 'To ensure greater safety on our roads, and reduce the devastating toll road accidents have on lives and livelihoods, we aim to reduce road fatalities by 45% by 2029 so we reach the UN target of halving road fatalities by 2030,' said Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy during the ministry's budget vote in Parliament on Wednesday, 2 July Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) puts the crash bill at R186-billion a year – about 2.8% of GDP – well above the global average for middle-income states. Statistics SA shows about 6,423 road deaths were officially recorded in 2019 on death certificates. However, the RTMC State of Road Safety 2023 and international data estimate the real annual toll closer to between 11,883 and 12,000. For context, that places South African road fatalities (25 per 100,000) at levels worse than countries such as Botswana (~18 per 100,000), the UK (~3 per 100,000) and only slightly better than Mozambique (~31 per 100,000). 'We will never have accurate stats of how many accidents are caused by unroadworthy vehicles … we cannot even quantify the cost,' says the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse's (Outa's) Rudie Heyneke, one of the lead authors of a 2025 report on corruption allegations at vehicle testing stations (VTS). The Stats SA record confirms the 25-39 age group bears the brunt – a direct drain on households, employers and the tax base, let alone the human cost. Heyneke makes this point clear: 'It's not a direct expense, but it's my money, it's your money, that goes into financing that ambulance, that hospital. It's a huge cost to the country.' Why is this happening? Law, tests and stations The National Road Traffic Act of 1996, Regulation 138 and SANS 10047/10216 make it clear: every car must pass a physical inspection at change of ownership, with annual tests for taxis and trucks, and semi-annual for buses. 'Passenger vehicles must be tested only with the change of ownership … so you can think that there's a lot more that can go wrong' says Heyneke. Many of the vehicles on the road today might fail a roadworthiness inspection, and requiring more frequent checks would indeed make our roads safer. However, even when Certificate of Roadworthiness (CoR) checks are required, the answer is not that simple. Second testing The problem, as Heyneke explains, is that many testing centres are vehicles for corruption. For example, if your vehicle fails a test in Gauteng, you can skip repairs or buy a pass in Limpopo or North West, a process enabled by a loophole in the way we manage vehicle roadworthiness fraud has become such an issue that Minister Creecy requested a probe be launched by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU). The National Traffic Information System (NaTIS) does not log failed test data or block a second pass, even if a pass is registered on the system within minutes after failing in another province. The RTMC was not able to provide data on the number of fraudulent CoRs logged and voided in response to written questions by Daily Maverick and referred our queries to the Department of Transport. The department had not responded to any of Daily Maverick's questions by the time of publication almost a week later. Outa's 2025 probe shows dozens of cross-border 'pass buys' every month, heavily used by taxis, buses and mine trucks. Stats SA data show only 54% of Gauteng's road deaths happen where the victim lives – mirroring the same cross-border test routes. 'Your car dies in Gauteng, but it's born 'safe' in Limpopo – that's the scam.' Private stations, public conflict Since the 1990s, private vehicle testing stations have multiplied to boost capacity – but oversight has fallen by the wayside. Limpopo now issues far more CoRs than its national fleet share of about 6% would justify, according to Outa data. Many station owners are also fleet operators, second-hand dealers or local politicians – an obvious conflict. The SIU's investigation falls under Proclamation 191 of 2024, signed by President Cyril Ramaphosa, covering officials, owners and syndicates. Unsafe roads, bad cars, a perfect storm The 2025 Africa Status Report on Road Safety shows South Africa's roads often lack lighting, signage and routine repair – add that to our decaying fleet plus fraud guarantees failures. Many 'driver error' fatalities are actually mechanical failures – worn brakes, broken steering, bald tyres that never saw a real inspection lane. Stats SA shows 27% of victims die in hospital and 13% are dead on arrival – strained public health infrastructure means that weak trauma care and rescue make the damage worse. International data confirm countries enforcing periodic inspections cut fatality rates by half or more. The WHO's Global Status Report on Road Safety of 2023 shows that countries with more frequent mandatory public roadworthiness inspections, which are centrally logged, consistently see fewer road fatalities over time, particularly with regard to mechanical failure-based crashes. The UK mandates annual testing, while Japan and Germany mandate biannual roadworthiness tests – and the numbers all demonstrate the clear efficacy in reducing crashes and fatalities. There has been a welcome decrease in road fatalities this year, with Easter weekend being notably calmer, with a 45.6% change since last year. 'We commend all those who played a role in this outcome,' said Automobile Association (AA) CEO Bobby Ramagwede in a statement earlier this year noting the improvement. 'Through coordinated efforts, we are finally beginning to see measurable improvements in road safety.' DM What this means for you The SIU's large-scale investigation is now live – asset freezes, possible criminal charges could see the light of day to investigate vehicle trading centres and a decline in the number of roadworthy certificates that are improperly issued. Outa hopes to host a national roundtable later this year with the ministry, SIU, fleet groups, taxi councils and VTS owners to push fixes. The fixes are not rocket science, according to Outa's Heyneke: Enforce periodic testing for older cars – the law already allows it; Upgrade NaTIS with a national block: fail once, no second pass without repairs; and Mandate photo and video evidence for every test, meaning no false paperwork. Until the loopholes close, every fake CoR is potentially a road crash tax that's quietly draining nearly 3% of South Africa's GDP – but until paper matches metal, we're paying in blood and billions. DM
Daily Maverick
11-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Maverick
Outa says Sector Education and Training Authorities need complete overhaul for job creation
The role of Setas has come under the spotlight following ongoing revelations around the hiring processes by Higher Education Minister Nobuhle Nkabane for Seta boards. But digging deeper, there are broader concerns: misgovernance and sliding audit figures from entities that receive R21-billion from taxpayers. Sector Education and Training Authorities (Setas) are plagued by misgovernance and inadequate skills, which have come under scrutiny in recent months due to the actions of Higher Education Minister Nobuhle Nkabane. The country's 21 Setas are ideally intended to provide training opportunities for both employed and unemployed individuals in a bid to improve skills, and thus employability. These Setas are involved in many different sectors from agriculture, media, transport and health to hospitality. The Setas have been thrust into the spotlight after Higher Education Minister Nobuhle Nkabane made appointments to their boards, which included politically aligned individuals from Nkabane's political home of the African National Congress (ANC). This has resulted in the reversal of these appointments and criminal cases being opened. Speaking to Daily Maverick, Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse's (Outa) Rudie Heyneke, a senior project manager on this issue, said there was 'a definite need' for Setas, using an example of a Seta that trained people to fix cellphones. The problem, he identified, was that 'there needs to be a total overhaul of the Setas'. He said this key skills development, which was paid for by both employers and employees through skills development levies, was key to combating the country's high unemployment rate. But the Setas were not functioning, despite R21-billion coming directly from taxpayers this year. The problem, Heyneke said, was 'governance' — the appointments of unqualified people for roles that required experience. Heyneke said that 'R20-billion [is] going to them every year and they don't give us what we need', and suggested that Setas should be scrapped if they were not functioning properly and effectively. According to data gathered by Outa, out of the 21 Setas only nine received clean audits. Five received financially unqualified audits. Seven Setas received qualified audit opinions during the 2023/2024 financial year. This isn't the first time Outa has tackled the Setas. The organisation has been exposing the rot at the Services Seta — where there were highly inflated contracts awarded under Andile Nongogo's tenure as its CEO between 2016 and 2019. Nongogo resurfaced as the chief executive at the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) in December 2020. Outa's Wayne Duvenage would later write in Daily Maverick: 'We were not surprised to see a number of his Service Seta suppliers surface in highly irregular contracts awarded at NSFAS.' But it is not only Outa that has raised issues with the functioning and governance of Setas. In their sixth administration legacy report, Parliament's higher education committee highlighted several key issues when it came to the governance of Setas. These include the irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure incurred by some Setas. 'Inadequate qualifications, skills, and capacity of some members appointed to serve on Seta boards,' read the committee's report. An issue raised by the committee was 'poor governance and management by certain Setas, with the Services Seta receiving qualified audit opinions for four consecutive financial years despite committee recommendations.' Other issues raised by the committee include the 'inability of some Setas to implement adequate project management and monitoring, contributing to irregular, fruitless, and wasteful expenditures, and the double-dipping of learners from different funders or multiple Setas'. Writing in Sunday Times, Professor William Gumede said it would be better to close down the Setas and let firms do the training if they could not be reformed. 'Alternatively, business, in collaboration with business associations — which are better placed to identify the skills demands of the economy — should take over the running of Setas,' wrote Gumede. On 13 March 2025, Parliament's higher education committee chairperson, Tebogo Letsie, implored the department to ensure the appointment of ethical board members at Setas. 'We do not want individuals who view this as an opportunity to enrich themselves at the expense of the sector. Instead, they must see this sector as a vehicle for uplifting young people and driving meaningful change,' he said. DM
