Zimbabwe’s Central Vehicle Registry (CVR) has rejected a proposal to make five O-Level passes, including English and Mathematics, a requirement for people seek...
Zimbabwe’s Central Vehicle Registry (CVR) has rejected a proposal to make five O-Level passes, including English and Mathematics, a requirement for people seeking professional driving licences. The CVR says the country already has a professionalised driver licensing system based on testing, regulation and enforcement.
The position was given by Acting CVR Registrar Saston Muzenda when he appeared before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Transport at the New Parliament Building in Mt Hampden. Muzenda was responding to a petition submitted by Drivers Association of Zimbabwe president Nicholas Mabwe calling for driving to be formally recognised as a profession and regulated through legislation.
Mabwe’s petition proposed minimum professional standards for drivers, including a requirement for five O-Level passes. English and Mathematics were specifically included in the proposed academic requirement. The petition has been referred to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Transport and Infrastructural Development for consideration.
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The proposal does not form part of the current requirements for obtaining a professional driving licence. Existing drivers are therefore not required to return to school or obtain five O-Level passes as a result of the petition. The issue remains under consideration by Parliament.
Muzenda said drivers in Zimbabwe already undergo testing before they are licensed and defended the existing licensing system. He said there was no indication that Zimbabwean drivers were considered incompetent either within the region or internationally.
“The process our drivers go through is internationally recognised and is one of the best in terms of practice,” Muzenda said.
He said the Government’s focus was instead moving towards stronger regulation and enforcement of traffic offences. Among the measures being developed is a penalty-points system that could result in motorists having their licences suspended or cancelled if they repeatedly commit traffic offences.
The proposed penalty-points system is expected to be linked to Zimbabwe’s new smart traffic management system. The system will use cameras to detect traffic offences and is intended to help authorities deal with errant driver behaviour and improve enforcement on the country’s roads.
Muzenda said the Government was already strengthening the regulatory framework through technology and the proposed penalty-points system. He questioned the need to make educational qualifications the focus of professional driving when drivers were already subjected to licensing tests.
He also said the Government was working to make the learner’s licence test more accessible by adding isiNdebele and Shona as languages for the test. Zimbabwe is also moving from manual licence production towards a computerised licensing system.
The CVR acting registrar further said Zimbabwean drivers were recognised across the region and internationally. According to Muzenda, the country had complied with the Transport and Transit Facilitation Programme, which seeks to harmonise transport policies, laws, regulations and standards across SADC, COMESA and the East African Community.
He said Zimbabwe had adopted the necessary legal instruments to support a driver trade-free area, which allows Zimbabwean drivers to be recognised across the region. He also said Zimbabwean professional drivers were working in countries including the United Kingdom, United States, Poland and Lithuania.
Muzenda said the CVR regularly received requests from foreign companies seeking confirmation of the qualifications and professional status of Zimbabwean drivers. He argued that this recognition demonstrated that Zimbabwe’s existing licensing and regulatory system already met professional standards.
The Drivers Association of Zimbabwe, however, has argued for a more formal framework for the driving profession. Its petition seeks legislation and regulatory structures that would establish professional standards for drivers and strengthen accountability within the sector.
The proposed five O-Level requirement has generated debate because it would introduce an academic threshold into an occupation that currently relies primarily on driving tests and licensing requirements. Supporters of the proposal have argued that professional drivers require skills such as reading road signs, understanding written instructions and handling records and calculations associated with their work.
The CVR’s response shifts the immediate focus away from academic qualifications and towards driver testing, traffic enforcement and technology. Under the proposed penalty-points system, repeat offenders could face progressively tougher consequences, including suspension or cancellation of their licences.
The Government’s planned smart traffic management system is expected to play a key role in that approach. Cameras will be used to identify traffic offences, while the proposed penalty-points system would allow authorities to keep track of repeated violations by motorists.
The debate over professional drivers comes as authorities continue to focus on road safety and driver behaviour. The Government’s position, as presented by the CVR, is that stronger enforcement of traffic laws and better use of technology can address driver misconduct without making five O-Level passes a compulsory entry requirement.
For now, the five O-Level proposal remains a petition before Parliament and has not become a new licensing requirement. Drivers who already hold licences have not been instructed to obtain additional academic qualifications as a result of the proposal.
The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Transport and Infrastructural Development will consider the petition before any further decision is made. Until Parliament adopts any changes to the law, the existing driver licensing requirements remain in place.
The CVR has meanwhile maintained that Zimbabwe’s driver licensing process is already professionalised and internationally recognised. The Government is instead moving towards a combination of licensing tests, smart traffic management, stronger enforcement and a proposed penalty-points system to deal with drivers who repeatedly violate traffic laws.
