Transport minister Sindisiwe Chikunga says that the rollout of new driving licence cards in South Africa will help the department tackle two big problems: corruption and the stubborn backlog of applications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Responding to a written parliamentary Q&A, Chikunga said that the department was currently facing a sizeable backlog of driving licence applications due to the printing machine – the only one in the country – recently being offline for an extended period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She said that machine was offline for maintenance, but it took longer than expected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The card production machine has been in operation since 1998 thus it\u2019s obsolete and thus prone to constant breakdown,” she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“These breakdowns result in driving licence backlogs which the Department has been able to address once the machine is repaired and is in operation.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She said the only permanent solution to the problem is replacing the old machine with a new modern one. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is underway as part of the rolling out of the new driving licence card, which Cabinet approved in August 2022, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The department said earlier in June\u00a0that South Africa\u2019s new driving licences will be launched before the end of the current financial year, putting the launch window sometime before the end of March 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, it expressed confidence that the licences will be piloted around November 2023, in line with previous statements from leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The new licence will be aligned closer to international practices, with the new card also allowing for the incorporation of new technologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It will have improved security features, including biometric data, holograms, and watermarks, to reduce fraudulent licences and improve road safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This will also help with the second big problem around driving licences, as highlighted by Chikunga.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fraud and corruption<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The minister said that her department is cracking down on fraud and corruption involved with the licencing process, working with the South African Police Service to identify and apprehend individuals and indicates who are engaging in “massive corruption” at Driving Licence Testing Centers (DLTCs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n She said that both the department and the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) are actively pursuing investigations into allegations of irregularities and bringing such cases with supporting evidence to the attention of the SAPS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “The RTMC reported that the National Traffic Anti-Corruption Unit investigated 247 cases of fraud and corruption in the past financial year and made 96 arrests in collaboration with the South African Police Services,” she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to the better security features on the new cards, Chikunga said that additional processes are being put in place to curb corruption, such as the underlying systems and links between the Department of Home Affairs and the National Traffic Information System (NaTIS).<\/p>\n\n\n\n This will “further secure the environment by ensuring that we only transact with citizens or people who are legally in the country,” she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “Biometric verification is used to authenticate users on login. The biometric verification is currently deployed in the Smart Enrolment Units and will be deployed for the revised Computerised Learner\u2019s Licence Testing (CLLT) within this financial year. The functionality will be extended to high-risk transactions when the applicant must be present,” she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She added that the online booking system is currently used at all DLTCs in Gauteng and 2 Metropolitan Municipalities in Eastern Cape to address collusion and fraudulent practices with bookings for tests. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The system is now being rolled out in Free State, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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