• Diageo South Africa and the Gauteng Government are looking to assist 40 000 youth in attaining their learner’s licenses.
• The initiative will also teach youth the dangers of alcohol misuse.
• As many as 130 000 youth applied to the initiative.

October is Transport Month in South Africa so in a bid to help the disadvantaged youth of the province Gauteng Provincial Government has partnered with an unlikely firm to get those individuals their learner’s licenses.

That firm is Diageo South Africa, the distributor of alcohol brands including Guinness, Tanqueray and Smirnoff. Government and Diageo are looking to empower the youth of the province by giving them the means to acquire their driver’s licenses while also highlighting the dangers of alcohol misuse.

The campaign – which has been dubbed Wrong Side of the Road – aims to assist 40 000 youth by covering the administrative fees that come with acquiring a license. The campaign was announced in August and over 130 000 responses were received.

“The Gauteng Provincial Government, in partnership with Diageo South Africa, presents an exciting opportunity for young people. Empowering Gauteng’s youth with free learner’s licenses serves as a dual-purpose endeavour. It is the first phase towards obtaining a driver’s license, which enhances employability. Additionally, this initiative actively promotes responsible driving during the learning stage, hopefully improving road safety, particularly against drinking and driving,” explained Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi.

Of the 40 000 licenses Gauteng government and Diageo South Africa hope to assist with, 10 000 are earmarked for motorbike licenses. This forms part of The Last Mile Project according to a press release.

“The Last-Mile project aims to license, train, mentor, and connect young people to job opportunities. Those interested will receive training and assistance, including access to motorbikes (options include rent-to-own, rental, or outright purchase) and contracts with industry-leading partners,” reads the release.

Those who applied to be a part of this initiative should keep an eye out for an SMS or WhatsApp message for further details on how to complete the acquisition of that license.

“Those who have successfully progressed will receive the next steps of their journey via SMS and WhatsApp, which include watching a video and completing a short quiz related to understanding the effects of alcohol and the shame and stigma associated with drunk driving. All steps must be completed to be eligible to receive your free learner’s license booking. This includes your readiness to take the test and achieving an 80% pass rate using the K53 app. All entries will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis. Recognizing that some applicants may face data limitations, the initiative encourages individuals to visit their local libraries, where free Wi-Fi access is available for the application process. Please note that only those names on the current recruitment list can continue the journey, and no further registrations will be accepted,” the Gauteng government says.

With a learner’s license costing as much as R168 (R108 for the booking and R60 for the booking) this is a great initiative even if rather limited in scope. We hope to see this grow to include more youth should Diageo and Gauteng look to continue the initiative.

[Image – The Ride Academy on Unsplash]