When 50 start but only 16 finish – the Northern Cape traffic training saga

By Monty Quill

Ah, the sweet sound of progress - Northern Cape roads have been blessed with a grand total of 16 new traffic officers! Yes, you read that right. Out of a batch of 50 trainees, only 32 percent made it through the Matjhabeng Traffic Training Academy in Welkom.

For those keeping score, that’s a 68 percent failure rate. If this were a school, we’d be shutting it down. If it were a restaurant, we’d be calling the health department. But since it's a traffic training academy, we’re apparently just calling it a “pilot project” and hoping for the best.

ALSO READ: 32% pass rate for provincial traffic inspectors

According to the provincial Department of Co-operative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs (Coghsta), 48 of the 50 recruits actually wrote their final assessments, and only 16 passed. As for the others? Well, 32 of them just didn’t meet all the requirements - no big deal when your job is to enforce road safety, right? Oh, and let’s not forget the one trainee who was removed for disciplinary reasons and the other who was caught cheating on the exam. Nothing says ‘future law enforcer’ quite like breaking the rules before you even get the badge.

But don’t worry, folks! Those 32 who almost made the cut will be getting a second chance in the remedial programme and Final Integrated Summative Assessment (FISA), so we might still see them directing traffic at some point in 2025. Because if there’s one thing we want in a province known for its questionable driving habits, it’s second-tier traffic cops who needed extra time to learn the rules.

Still, MEC Bentley Vass is putting on a brave face, congratulating the successful few and promising that the 16 lucky survivors will now be deployed across the Province to “maintain law and order for all modes of transport.” Given the numbers, maybe they should start by policing their own training programme.

But don’t despair - hope is on the horizon! In March, the department plans to recruit another 25 traffic inspectors. Fingers crossed we get a slightly better graduation rate this time. Who knows? Maybe we’ll even crack 50 percent!

Until then, drive safe, Northern Cape. The odds are pretty good that you won’t actually see one of these elusive new traffic officers out on the roads any time soon.

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