Gauteng transport MEC Jacob Mamabolo claims there is no reason for motorists in the province to be unable to secure slots for the renewal of their drivers’ licences as more platforms have been availed to do so.
Almost 150,000 motorists have not honoured their slots since September last year, causing further clogging in the system.
Last week, transport minister Fikile Mbalula announced that there would be no extension of the deadline for the renewal of drivers licences beyond May 5.
The deadline applies to all learner’s licences, driver's licence cards, temporary driver's licences and professional driver's permits that expired during the period from March 26 2020 up to and including August 31 2021.
Securing of slots has given many motorists a headache, resulting in many not being able to renew their licences.
“There is no excuse for not securing a slot. There may be other reasons for struggling to renew a licence, such as machines not working at the centre but not the securing of slots,” Mamabolo said.
He said more than 900,000 people in Gauteng had not renewed their licences and that the backlog had been reduced to 441,114.
“We have created multiple technological platforms for people to get the slots, which includes a special app, the website and two email addresses ...We have created two new offices in Centurion and Waterfall just to help address the backlog,” he said.
Mamabolo said one of the contributing factors to the backlog was that some motorists with unrenewed licences had not honoured the slots allocated to them by the booking system.
He said since the introduction of multiple platforms for bookings in September, 147,531 people had not honoured their slots.
The backlog in the renewal of driver’s licences in Gauteng was worsened by a two-week strike in March that resulted in the closure of most testing stations in the province. At the time driving schools were complaining about the configurations of the booking system, which they said did not allow a third party to apply for a slot on behalf of the applicant.
According to the Road Traffic Management Corporation, motorists who applied for renewal of their driving licence cards before the expiry date are permitted to use the expired card for a period of three months provided the they still have the expired card and proof they have applied for the renewal.
But those who apply for renewal of driving licence cards after the expiry date are compelled to take a temporary driver’s licence.
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