Buying a driver’s licence

To get your learner’s license in Zimbabwe costs US$20 and ditto for driving test.

I got a call from a friend who I tested for his learners before he sat the test and I can vouch that he really knew it well.

But he failed 3 times. He was distraught. His neighbour said, ‘Don’t be stupid – clearly they want a bribe’.

So my friend went back to the VID, and asked how much it will REALLY cost.

‘Ooohhhh’, they said, ’80 for learners, 100 for driving license – and don’t worry, if you come with the money you don’t have to re-sit the exam’.

My friend was convinced he’d already passed three times anyway so he paid and passed. This means that instead of costing US$40 bucks it now costs US$220 to go through the whole process of getting your licence: the official  US$40 plus  US$180 for what it REALLY costs.

Corruption runs so deep in Zimbabwe it seems impossible that it will ever end: from doctors hi-jacking medical equipment donated for use in hospitals, to nurses selling their donated stocks to patients.

I give blood regularly, FOR FREE, and I am reliably told by a colleague that he had to BUY blood at the government-run hospital at R300 for a pint.

This entry was posted by Still Here on Monday, March 23rd, 2009 at 2:52 pm. You can follow any comments on this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.