Trouble for anyone renewing their driving licence in South Africa’s most populated city
Drivers who arrive at centres in Johannesburg are being turned away, encountering locked doors, or having to wait in long lines to renew their licenses or apply for driving documents.
Johannesburg’s driving licence testing centres (DLTCs) are facing severe operational paralysis due to intergovernmental debt and internal procurement failures.
The City of Johannesburg has withheld over a year’s worth of licensing agency fees owed to the Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport.
In response, Daily Maverick reported that provincial authorities rationed the supply of face-value paper required for official licences and registration documents.
The city has also allowed its own supply contracts to expire without a replacement tender, which has resulted in severe shortages of basic consumables like A4 paper and printer toner.
Motorists are facing long queues, closed doors, and administrative backlogs, while opportunists in the street exploit applicants outside the locked centres.
Julius Kleynhans, Executive Manager for Local Government at OUTA, said the problems facing Johannesburg’s driving licence centres result from long-standing systemic failures rather than a sudden breakdown.
He said municipalities are subject to regular oversight, audit reports and reporting requirements to provincial governments, meaning the warning signs should have been visible for some time.
However, speaking in an interview with 702 Drive, Kleynhans said that motorists are now bearing the consequences.
“This hasn’t happened overnight. I think this is a systemic issue that we’re starting to see unfolding. Unfortunately, it’s the innocent people, the motorists, that’s bearing the brunt of it,” Kleynhans said.
Kleynhans said he does not believe there is a quick solution, particularly because the officials and political structures responsible for the failures remain in place.
“The challenge we have is that the very people who caused this problem are still in power and overseeing it, so we haven’t really seen proper accountability for those who have failed in their duties yet,” he said.
It’s embarrassing
Johannesburg’s poor financial position is another major obstacle. Kleynhans said it could take years to put the city on a sustainable financial footing, particularly as funds are being reallocated among different financial obligations.
“I cannot see that we’re going to get out of this soon. We’re still holding on to the old methods and ways of applying for licences, people queuing up at stations, and it’s just inefficient,” he said.
He argued that the city needs to address the underlying causes of its problems rather than simply responding to each new crisis.
The shortages of basic supplies, including ordinary paper, toner cartridges and specialised face-value document paper used for official licensing documents, also point to failures in management and procurement planning.
“Managers are supposed to be held accountable for that, and they have to plan in advance. This is basic business principles, and the city hasn’t applied it for years.”
Kleynhans also questioned why different spheres of government had not intervened earlier after the City of Johannesburg failed to pay over money owed to the Gauteng provincial government for 13 months.
“The question of why they haven’t intervened months ago is really something that we need to look at. The deterioration and failure don’t happen overnight, and I believe heads must roll,” he said.
For motorists, he said that there is reportedly some leniency for expired licences, but they should not have to rely on it.
“You have to go take a day off leave. You need to go and stand in a queue. It’s so cumbersome,” he said.
Kleynhans added that while alternative licensing facilities may be available, the situation remains confusing, with some centres technically open but unable to process certain applications due to a lack of ink or paper.
“This is really laughable. This is, supposedly, the economic hub of the country. It’s embarrassing,” he said.
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