Driver’s licence card backlog to be cleared in four months – Mbabula

Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula has broken his silence on the long-awaited question by motorists: how long must they wait to get their renewed driver’s licence cards.

Mbalula on Thursday said that motorists will have to wait four more months before the backlog of driver’s licence cards will be cleared.

Mbalula said that in the two weeks since the production process resumed, the Driving Licence Card Authority (DLCA) has produced 128,436 driving licence cards.

The current backlog of cards waiting to be printed stands at 597,000 after the machine that produces the cards was repaired.

“Considering that the current backlog of 597,000 [cards] awaiting to be printed, we anticipate that it will take approximately four months to clear the backlog. The backlog of the cards currently in the system will be cleared by April 2022,” the Minister of Transport said.

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Motorists whose licences were close to expiring during the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic were given an extension to renew their cards due to lockdown restrictions.

However, that grace period is coming to an end on 31 March 2022.

“Those whose cards expired between 26 March 2020 and 31 August 2021 are deemed to be valid until 31 March 2022,” Mbalula said.

The National Road Traffic Act regulations will provide a temporary reprieve for motorists who have applied for the renewal of their cards to continue using the expired card for a period not exceeding three months.

“However, those whose licences expired after 31 August 2021 are required to apply for a temporary driving licence as the grace period does not cover them,” Mbalula added.

The Department of Transport reports that with an estimated production of 400,000 cards per month, Mbalula estimates that the total 2.1-million licensing renewal backlog will be cleared by September 2022.