A South African ID book and driver's licence. Picture: Gallo Images/Nicolene Olckers
Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula has been urged to speed up the process of extending the validity period of the driver’s licence card.
This comes as the driver’s licence renewal grace period deadline for or motorists whose driving licences expired during the Covid-19 lockdowns looms.
According to the Department of Transport, the total backlog of driver’s licences that will expire on Thursday, 31 March, currently stands at 2.1 million across the country.
ALSO READ: 2.1 million driver’s licence backlog: Legal action looms over Mbalula’s renewal deadline
“Nationally, more than 1.2 million licences out of a total of 2.8 million expired licences are yet to be renewed,” the department told Parliament last week.
While Mbalula previously said the backlog will be cleared by September 2022, he has been asked to to reconsider extending the grace period.
The minister is set to hold a media briefing on Friday to provide an update regarding the extension of licence validity.
The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) and the Automobile Association (AA) have raised concerns over Mbalula’s silence on the validity period of driver’s licence card.
In February, Mbalula indicated the extension of the validity period was being considered.
The minister said that the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) was looking into extending the validity period from five to 10 years in order to “improve the driver’s licence value chain”.
READ MORE: Getting a driver’s licence renewed will ‘be easier’ from March 2022, assures Mbalula
Outa previously called on the minister in September 2020 to extend the period of validity for renewed driver’s licences.
At the time, the organisation said in a statement that changing the renewal process would “save consumers and government time and money”.
Outa proposed to the minister that an extension for driver’s license renewal be applied from five to 10 years, and this extension would apply for those between the ages of 18 to 65 years.
In his response, Mbalula noted Outa’s proposals, saying the RMTC will evaluate whether the current validity period is “beneficial or counter-productive”.
After having met with Mbalula to discuss the matter earlier in March, Outa said it was “promised a follow up meeting in two weeks”.
“But as of today, we are still awaiting the Minister’s response to our proposals,” Stefanie Fick, executive director of Outa’s accountability division said on Tuesday.
ALSO READ: RTMC snuck hidden costs into new online payment system, says OUTA
Meanwhile, the AA has called on the minister to urgently finalise the plans to extend the validity period.
“Minister Mbalula in February indicated that research is being conducted into extending the validity period of driving licence cards from the current five-year period.
“This research should now be completed and is, in our view, the most practical way forward. It’s now incumbent on government to implement this change as a pragmatic way of dealing with driving licence issues now and into the future,” the organisation said in a statement.
According to Mbalula, a new smart driver’s licence card will be rolled out from October 2023.
The minister said in media briefing last month that the current licence card will be phased out over a five-year period, which will allow the current cards to expire.
The new card will have advanced security features and meet international standards, which means it can also be used as an alternative form of identification.
The minister said last year that the new card would be sent to Cabinet for approval early in 2022.
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