14 Mar 2019

Minister of Transport and Communications, Ms Dorcas Makgato says there is no mandatory requirement of six months regarding the enrolment of learner driver’s license. 

Ms Makgato said she was only aware that driving schools and driving instructors regulations of 2015 required that learner drivers who wished to acquire a class B driver’s license had to follow certain time-based minimum requirements.

She explained that the learners were required to follow a competency-based training programme which had been approved by the Botswana Qualifications Authority (BQA). 

The minister stated that the programme comprised a set of exercises that a learner had to undergo under supervision of a trained driver instructor in order to acquire a class B driving license. 

Ms Makgato mentioned that those exercises were inclusive of lessons, self-study or exercises as well as time spent at the Department of Road Transport and Safety (DTRS) for tests required towards the award of a class B driving license. 

She said she believed that the training requirements as assured by BQA addressed themselves to the economic situation in Botswana, adding that an important thing was the issue of road safety which ought to be a concern for all.

Member of Parliament for Francistown East, Mr Buti Billy has asked the minister if she was aware of the requirements of six months mandatory enrolment in a driving school as a learner. 

MP Billy also wanted to know what motivated the decision, asking if the requirements were favourable looking at the economic situation of Botswana. ENDS