OUTA calls for rethink of licence renewal

THE country has been inundated with a disastrous driver’s licence backlog, first caused by the covid-19 lockdown restrictions and, most recently, by the crash of the only card printing machine in the country.

This chaos has left many South Africans without driver’s licence cards.

ALSO READ: Highway readers react to licence card printing debacle

Despite the Department of Transport extending the grace period for the validity of licences that expired between March 26 and August 31, 2021 to March 31, 2022, many civil society groups, such as Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA), has called on the government to scrap five-year driver licence renewal in favour of a system that will see licences renewed every 10 years instead.

According to OUTA’s Andrea Korff, South Africa faces significant challenges with its driving licence card renewal process.

As a result, she said that motorists became dissatisfied and often abandoned their legal obligations.

“South Africa follows a five-year renewal period model and the sub-par renewal process causes frustration with the online booking system.

“It is cumbersome to get a slot/booking, corruption is hard to avoid, and there are long queues for walk-ins,” said Korff.

Recently, the transport minister, Fikile Mbalula, announced that the only machine capable of manufacturing driver’s licence cards broke down and, therefore, the government could not issue new cards.

OUTA said it has conducted comprehensive research on the subject matter. It believes that if South Africa follows the example of other countries with successful driver’s licence protocols, it will save consumers, as well as government, time and money as well as improve the manageability and efficacy of the renewal process.

According to OUTA, there is an obvious need for efficiency in the administration for the renewal process of a driver’s licence card.

“To achieve the above outcome, OUTA contends that the Department of Transport announce a formal and permanent extension of the driving licence renewal period to 10 years, as is the case in other countries. Extending the validity of driving licences from five to 10 years is a simple intervention that is affordable in terms of both money and time.

It will decrease the current pressure on the government to keep up with increased administrative demand and allow the operational methods and systems to be evaluated, assessed, and improved over the next five years.”

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