Driving and licensing centres resume operations in Tshwane after weeks of protests

Operations are back to normal at Tshwane licensing centres following weeks of closure that saw the driving and learner license test bookings services interrupted across the region.

This is after the National Driving School Association of South Africa (NDSASA) took to the streets protesting against the NaTIS online booking system.

NDSASA members demanded that the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) suspends the NaTIS online booking system implemented by the RTMC with the Department of Roads and Transport.

This saw a number of centres closing down and services being interrupted around Tshwane region.

The city of Tshwane on Thursday announced the resumption of services in Akasia, Bronkhorstspruit, Centurion, Rayton, and Watloo.

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“The City of Tshwane would like to inform members of the public who were affected by the closure of licensing centres, to visit nearest offices where their driving and learner test bookings were lodged,” reads a statement from the city.

“The applicants will be attended to in respect of deferring their test applications.

“The offices are now fully operational from 08h00 until 15h00 on weekdays.”

The City of Tshwane assured residents that its technicians have gradually begun the process of restoring power to some areas that have experienced prolonged outages amid the “threats and intimidation that they have been subjected to by pockets of employees that are involved in an unlawful and unprotected strike action”.

Tshwane has experienced a series of outages affecting at least four regions due to the strike.

It said that it has since enlisted the services of law enforcement who are escorting teams to attend to service interruptions in a bid to clear the backlog occasioned by the protest action which started on Tuesday.

“From 11pm last night (Wednesday) various teams started going out to attend to service interruptions and will ramp up the operations today (Thursday) despite the depleted capacity of personnel who are being forcibly removed from offices and prevented from performing their duties for which they are
remunerated.”