Big driving licence problem for South Africa
South Africa still faces a massive driver licence backlog, with the country’s final grace period deadline fast approaching.
The Department of Transport issued a one-year grace period for the renewal of licences from 31 March 2021 to 31 March 2022 as a result of delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. This applies to temporary licences, professional driving permits and licences for those with learner licences.
Data presented to parliament by the department on Wednesday (23 March) shows that the total backlog of driving licences that expires by 31 March 2022, now stands at 2.1 million nationwide. Nationally more than 1.2 million licences out of a total of 2.8 million expired licences are yet to be renewed, it said.
While the department said it was making steady progress in addressing this backlog, it will be heavily reliant on temporary driver licence permits and working day and night shifts to address the shortfall.
The department said the backlog had steadily increased over the last year due to several reasons, including:
- The closure of licensing centres due to Covid and corruption;
- Faulty equipment and downtime systems at licensing centres in many provinces;
- In November 2021, the production machine responsible for printing licence cards broke down as a result of electrical surge caused by flooding from an adjacent building.
“As of 15 March 2022, there are 1.47 million people whose licences have expired and have not renewed. It is anticipated that these applicants will be coming in at the last minute to renew their driving licences,” the department said in its presentation.
“To meet this expected demand, the DLCA will continue to work shifts/overtime until the backlog is cleared. It is estimated that this further backlog will be addressed within a period of 6 months as it is dependent on when applicants renew.”
Despite the backlog, Transport minister Fikile Mbalula has repeatedly said that there will be no more deadline extensions.
Civil society group Afriforum plans legal action to extend the grace period for expired driver’s licences beyond the March 2022 deadline.
Afriforum has instructed its lawyers to prepare a legal letter to the Department of Transport demanding that the grace period for the renewal of licences be extended for a reasonable period beyond 31 March 2022.
The civil rights organisation said is further considering the possibility of taking on a trial case in the event that the grace period is not extended, and a member of the public is punished for driving without a valid licence as a result of the government’s own inability to provide this service.
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