Motorists driving with licences that expired after August 31 should expect no mercy from law enforcement until a formal decision is made on the extension of their grace period due to a huge backlog in licence renewals across the country.
Yesterday, transport minister Fikile Mbalula hinted that he would consider extending the validity of expired driver's licences beyond the initial period gazetted during the lockdown to cover motorists who have been struggling to find booking spots at the driving licensing testing centres (DLTCs).
Mbalula, speaking during a visit to Temba, north of Pretoria, said there are negotiations with unions for workers at DLTCs to put in more hours to address the backlog.
“We are confident that this, in a few weeks’ time, will be something of the past. I will work with my team and seek advice on extension of validity for those who are affected by this because they are facing the ruthlessness of the law as we maintain it out there... and then next week I will give pronouncement on that as we address the challenge we are facing in this regards,” Mbalula said.
Earlier this week, Mbalula said the national backlog stood at 300,000 and each month demand for driver's licence renewals grew by 90,000. Most of the backlog is in Gauteng, which has capacity for 10,300 slots a week.
According to the Gauteng department of transport there is now a backlog of 144,896 in renewals of driver’s licences. The backlog in learner's licences stands at 39,000 and for professional driver's permits it is 26,372.
The backlog is largely caused by lack of human resources at DLTCs and the alleged collusion between driving schools with officials at the centres.
Gauteng traffic police said despite the government acknowledging that the backlog is due to its own systematic problems, officers on the road have to enforce the law.
“You can’t be driving with an expired driver’s licence. We need an approved government gazette which gives an extension for the driver’s licences for us to comply with. Before that happens, the law must take its course. Currently we don’t have that gazette,” said Gauteng traffic police spokesperson Sello Maremane.
Maremane said if a driver is found with an expired driver’s licence they will be issued an Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Act (Aarto) notice that carries a fine ranging from R300 to R500.
The government extended the validity of licences that expired between March 26 and August 31 in the lockdown until January next year. But there are thousands of motorists whose licences expired after August 31 and who have been unable to book slots for renewing them.
MEC for public transport and roads infrastructure Jacob Mamabolo has instructed DLTCs to allocate 70% of the booking slots to driver's licence renewals. Mamabolo has also commissioned a forensic investigation into the corruption at the centres.
Chairperson of the Justice Project SA, Howard Dembovsky, said the government has to find new ways of dealing with the renewal of driver’s licences.
“If you can get your identity document from the bank, why can’t you get the same in respect of a driver's licence card. All you need to do is to furnish an eye test from a registered optometrist, the bank can take your fingerprints and that kind of stuff and you can get your driver's licence issued,” Dembovsky said.
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