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Ivan Zhakata Herald Reporter
Twenty bogus driving instructors have been arrested throughout the country, while a fake driving school was closed in Gutu following the launch of a crackdown on unregistered driving schools and instructors by the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe (TSCZ) in April.

The operation code named “Operation Takuona or Sesikubonile” is being carried out around the country to eliminate bogus driving schools and instructors.

In an interview with The Herald, TSCZ spokesperson Mr Ernest Muchena said the operation which began in April this year was aimed at flushing out bogus driving schools, which are benefiting at the expense of desperate people wishing to acquire driver’s licences.

“We have realised that there are a lot of bogus driving schools around the country and the operation is not only targeting driving schools only but also unregistered instructors,” Mr Muchena said.

He also said so far they have arrested 11 bogus instructors in Harare, nine in Bulawayo and closed one bogus driving school in Gutu making a total of 21.

Mr Muchena also said that driving schools should abide by the TSCZ regulations as any breach of the regulations is a serious offence.

“We have laws which govern drivers in Zimbabwe among them SI309 of 1985 which prohibits the establishment of an unregistered driving school and Section 3 of the same Act which prohibits unregistered instructors from giving practical lessons for a fee or reward,” Mr Muchena said.

He also urged the public to be aware of bogus driving schools and instructors before urging them to ask for the driving schools’ or the instructors’ registration particulars before engaging them.

“People can check with our data base and ask for the instructor’s registration particulars,” Mr Muchena said.

Recently the TSCZ said an average five people are killed and 38 are injured on a daily basis in road accidents.

Mr Obio Chinyere, TSCZ managing director, was recently quoted as saying that 94 percent of road collisions are a result of human error.

Mr Chinyere said organisations have lost human capital, while individuals have lost loved ones.