Outa: Public misled about driving licence card validity

The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) claims the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) has misled South Africans as to why it will not extend the driving licence card validity period from five years to eight years for light vehicles.

The organisation’s executive director, advocate Stefanie Fick said the RTMC would not provide Outa with its research report showing how communicable diseases affect its decision while the Department of Transport told them the report does not exist.

The RTMC “has ignored the research it conducted in 2022 which recommended extending the validity of driving licence cards, and justified this by referring to research which it does not appear to have,” Fick said on Wednesday.

Confusion around reports

“In July 2024, Outa asked both RTMC and the Department of Transport for two reports which they used when making a decision on whether or not to extend the driving licence validity period beyond the current five years.”

Fick said the first report was the research carried out for the RTMC in 2022, which the corporation previously refused to give Outa but has now handed over – the Driving Licence Card Validity Period Review compiled by Zutari in May 2022.

“This report recommended extending the card validity period for drivers of light vehicles to eight years, which the RTMC and department have clearly ignored.”

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The second report was the research on which RTMC CEO Makhosini Msibi based his claim to Moneyweb in May 2024 that the card validity period could not be extended as a number of accidents were related to communicable and other diseases.

“On 31 July… the RTMC told Outa it would not hand over this second research report, but the same day the Department of Transport informed Outa that no such report exists.”

In the RTMC’s response to Outa, it stated: “The research conducted by the corporation on the referred to subject herein falls within the ongoing research relating to the viability of extension of the five-year driver’s license card validity period and access to this research consequently, therefore, stands to be refused in terms of Section 43(2) of PAIA [Promotion of Access to Information Act].”

Section 43(2) allows a refusal of access to information by the public if there are confidentiality concerns, including those relating to the subject of research. But the department allegedly informed Outa that it had taken “reasonable steps to find a copy of the alleged research and for that reason, it cannot be found thus it does not exist”, and provided an affidavit from a deputy director-general confirming this.

Misleading the public

“It is clear that the RTMC is deliberately misleading the public on its so-called reason not to extend the driving licence card validity period,” Fick continued.

“Outa now questions the motives of the RTMC, as the ultimate decision to extend the validity period lies with the Minister of Transport, who in turn should not be influenced by an entity with vested financial interests in the decision. We find the reasons advanced by the RTMC to be ludicrous and lacking in any factual basis.”

She said the refusal to extend the card validity period could be linked to the tender to buy a new card printing machine and the money to be made from reprinting cards every five years.

On 10 July, Outa wrote to the newly appointed Minister of Transport, Barbara Creecy, requesting engagement to discuss the extension and other related issues. No response has been received yet.

What is in RTMC’s 2022 research report

The Driving Licence Card Validity Period Review, written in May 2022 by consultants Zutari for the RTMC, proposed extending the driving licence card validity for light vehicles to eight years.

This is while the validity for licence cards for heavy vehicles remains at five years.

The Citizen has requested comment from both the RTMC and the Department of Transport. Their responses will be published when they are given.