The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) has alleged that thousands of motorists were still struggling to have their expired driving licence cards renewed due to administrative woes and protest action.

It has since called for a renewal extension to be set by Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula.

Outa’s executive director, advocate Stefanie Fick alleged that in Gauteng, motorists had been struggling to gain access to the electronic system to book a slot to get their licences renewed.

“Furthermore, the week protests by driving schools over the failed system gave rise to centres being shut down and staff feeling threatened.

“These protests have added another dimension to the problem which the minister cannot ignore, being that motorists have been unable to renew their licences under these dangerous conditions,” said Fick.

She called on Mbalula to extend the deadline for all those who had expired licence cards.

“We believe the minister needs to extend this March 31 deadline and take into account that he has to consider the 10-year licence renewal period and its impact on the current situation,” said Fick.

“We strongly feel that a 10-year licence renewal period should apply to all driver’s licence cards in current circulation, meaning that all driver’s licence cards should have five years added onto the current expiry date.

“If this were the case, then the 31 March expiry date becomes obsolete, and the country can move on without having to attend to the current mess unfolding.”

Outa’s call follows the Tshwane metro’s roads and transport department working on getting its own court interdict against the National Driving School Association of South Africa (NDSASA) to prevent possible violence and property destruction at Tshwane’s driving licensing testing centres.

The protest by the NDSASA has been running for almost two weeks.

This was in addition to the provincial government already obtaining an interdict restraining protestors from participating in action within 150m of the entrances and premises of licensing centres in Gauteng.

Mbalula said the interdict came after he grew concerned over the safety of staff at the centres.

“Staff have been attacked with weapons such as guns,” said Mbalula.

Mbalula said the protests were “very violent” and had infringed on the rights of other South Africans.

He said he would consult with the Minister of Police for officers to be deployed at centres.

“Police should be here. Some of these people [protesters] are very violent and have been toting AK-47s inside centres.”

Mbalula again reiterated that the grace period for licence renewals would not be extended beyond the end of March.

“I urge motorists to go to the various centres to renew their licences. We also increased the capacity at centres such as the ones in Waterfall and Centurion.”

Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) chief executive, Makhosini Msibi said the driving school association had been up in arms about the online system because “they say we have been taking their clients’ rights away”.

“They also say that the online system discriminates against illiterate people, but any illiterate persons or senior citizens can still walk into any licensing centre without making a booking and they would be helped.

“There are also kiosks at centres that can be used by people without the necessary tools and data to do so from the comfort of their homes.

“This new system takes you less than five minutes to transact for a licence renewal, after creating a profile with names, surnames and identification numbers.”

He dismissed claims that the system was beset with problems, saying that it was functional “24/7”.

“It is faster than before and slots are available for bookings.”