Trouble for new driving licences in South Africa

Progress on the new driving licence cards for South Africa is still under wraps, with the Department of Transport (DoT) facing growing frustration over an alleged lack of transparency and “ludicrous” reasoning for its decisions.

The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) has criticized the DoT and its entities for what it claims is a lack of transparency regarding key issues like new driving licences, fees and pricing, and the validity of current cards.

However, the DoT has rebuked these characterisations, saying that it “has been transparent” with all its processes.

Outa’s executive director, Advocate Stefanie Fick said the organisation is “concerned that the secrecy is hiding problematic activities” by the DoT and the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) as well as the Driving Licence Card Account (DLCA).

“Outa has for the past few years tried to engage meaningfully with these transport entities on various issues, but to no avail,” said Fick.

Drivers licence card machine

For more than 25 years, South Africa has depended on a single printer for its driver’s licence card production needs. One card takes an average of 14 working days to complete.

This inefficient process, along with the printer’s advanced age, has led to frequent malfunctions and breakdowns, resulting in a significant backlog of licence renewal applications—reaching a peak of 1.3 million between 2022 and 2023.

To tackle these challenges, a new, faster machine was issued for tender, which could produce multiple cards daily and improve the security features of the cards.

Cabinet gave the go-ahead for a turnkey solution on 30 August 2022, and a bid for the procurement of a new one was advertised on 10 November 2022.

However, this bid process was unsuccessful, resulting in a re-advertisement of the bid on 5 April 2023.

At a media briefing for the scrapping of e-tolling in Gauteng on 10 April 2024, the department said it was at the “tail-end” of the process of procuring a new printing machine for the cards from France, which would be printing hundreds of new licences before the end of April (2024).

However, this never materialised.

“Owing to its technical complexity, this bid continues to be under consideration, which requires the department to adhere to prescribed [supply chain management]  prescripts and regulations,” said the DoT.

“It needs to be emphasised that with the evaluation and adjudication phase completed, the bid is undergoing standard and required Departmental probity/audit processes – the Department cannot finalise the bid process until these are completed,” added the department.

The department said in June 2024 that “with the evaluation and adjudication of the bids completed, the department is almost at a brink of pronouncing a new dawn in the driving licence card environment, with the audit process being the only last hurdle standing in the way.”

Outa said that it “believes the entire tender process is shrouded in uncertainty and lack of transparency.”

The DoT disagrees, saying that it “has been transparent with its process to replace the driving licence card printing machine.”

The DoT said that it is prohibited by law to interfere with the affairs of the bidding committees and that, in compliance with the rules and regulations on tender processes, it cannot be characterised as lacking transparency.

Drivers licence card validity period

There have long been debates about the extension of South Africa’s driver’s licence card validity period, with Outa calling for the validity to be extended from five to 10 years.

The organisation argues that extending the card validity aligns the country with practices seen around the world, has the possibility of saving the public money due to less frequent re-applications as well as “reduce time wasted by a bureaucracy which is inefficient.”

In response to mounting pressure from key stakeholders, in February 2022, former minister of the DoT Fikile Mbalula commissioned the RTMC to research the feasibility of extending the validity of driver’s licence cards.

Following the completion of the research that year, Mbalula announced that the cards would be extended to eight years after the research found that the average renewal period across 35 countries was 8.5 years.

However, his successor, minister Sindiswa Chikunga, reversed course and said the validity period would remain five years.

The DoT told BussinessTech that this is because “the timeframe of license validity is partly informed by the health and wellness of license holders.”

“This includes eye tests, which are able to determine the deterioration of a driver’s vision and if a necessary restriction needs to be listed on an individual’s license,” said the DoT.

Fick said that these reasons are “ludicrous.”

Automobile Association (AA) spokesperson Layton Beard previously told BusinessTech that “extending the validity is the right thing to do.”

“There is no disadvantage to the system of having a longer validity period, but there is a major benefit to the motorists for having a longer validity period,” he added.

He explained that the extension would reduce motorists’ costs while alleviating pressure on the system, which has experienced major backlogs.

Beard also said that, while the AA acknowledges the importance of monitoring the driver’s health and ability, one can easily get eye tests done off-site (optician) and carry the certificate in your car instead of having to go through the entire licence renewal process.

The composition of licence fees

The price of licence cards varies, averaging at around R250. However, Outa said that this, too, is clouded in uncertainty.

Fick said that “the public has a right to clarity on these fees – when government entities generate excessive revenue, it encourages corruption and maladministration.”

“When public bodies are accountable and transparent on how they collect and use public money, it creates a culture of confidence in government,” said Fick.

“Unfortunately, the opposite is also true.”

The current fee includes the total cost of producing a card, the supply of enrolment equipment at DLTCs, and the support and maintenance of the strategic infrastructure and the enrolment equipment at DLTCs, said the DoT.

Change of leadership

Barbara Creecy was recently appointed as Minister of Transport.

Outa welcomed the change in leadership at the DoT, noting that the ministry has experienced significant turmoil over the past decade. Seven ministers have been in place in the last 15 years and 11 in the past 20—all with conflicting policy directions.

“Stabilising the Department of Transport and its entities, as well as improving its critical functions… will form part of the new administration’s priorities,” said the DoT.

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