KIGALI - The National Police has relinquished powers to select candidates vying for drivers’ licenses to driving schools, the Commissioner General of Police, Emmanuel Gasana has said.

Gasana told The New Times, yesterday, that the move is aimed at reducing the commotion that has been prevailing especially during the application process.

"For the last four months, we put in place mechanisms that will give driving schools the powers to choose who goes for the final driving permit exam. The candidates will be required to register and take driving lessons for at least two months before going for the final test with the police,” he said.

According to Gasana, police is in talks with Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Agency (RURA) and driving schools on how best to make the process smooth.

"The police and management of driving schools will formulate a syllabus for driving courses and a schedule of when exams can be done.”

Gasana also explained that the advantage of giving the driving schools these powers was also aimed at incorporating police packages into the training programmes.

"We agreed with the schools on how they can include police packages on road safety and also agreed that traffic police officers will, during the course of theoretical part of the training, provide guidance, advice and education on road safety,” he said.

Gasana pointed out that to yield better results, police and other stakeholders had put in place an inspection team that will be charged with following up on what has been agreed on and also strengthen schools.

According to police, there are 50 registered driving schools, though only 13 have been approved by RURA after fulfilling the requirements which include, a computer to store records, a classroom, syllabuses that include theory and practice, learner’s vehicles and professional driving instructors.

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