Picture for illustration. Police stop a car during a roadblock along Allandale Road held by the Ekurhuleni Metro Police, 24 April 2020 . Picture: Neil McCartney
The deadline for vehicle owners to renew licence discs that expired between March an May without penalties is Tuesday, 22 September.
The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) has urged motorists to comply and avoid penalties.
“Motorists who fail to renew vehicle licences by end of business on Tuesday, 22 September, will incur additional costs for late renewal.
If a vehicle’s license disk expired between 26 March to 31 May and is not renewed by Tuesday, owners could face:
A penalty which is calculated at 10% of the annual licensing fees per month.
A traffic fine of up to R1,000 if stopped by traffic officers while operating an unlicensed motor vehicle on a public road.
Acting according to the Disaster Management Act, the Minister of Transport, Fikile Mbalula, in July gazetted an extension in the validity period of all whose motor vehicle discs, permits and roadworthy certificates that expired during the period commencing from 26 March to 31 May 31.
The deadline for renewals was set for 31 August with a further 21 day grace period without incurring late payment costs.
The RMTC said the extension affected 2,46 million motorists whose vehicle discs expired during the total lockdown period. So far, 1,7 million (69%) “had taken advantage of the extension and renewed their licences by the end of last week”.
“The RTMC is satisfied with the public’s response to the extension and calls on those who have not yet renewed to take urgent steps to comply and save money.”
Meanwhile, the Democratic Alliance (DA) on Monday said it had received volumes of complaints relating to the registration of vehicles that couldn’t be finalised before the deadline.
DA MP Chris Hunsinger said that that long queues meant that many motorists could not renew their licenses in time “because offices did not function optimally”.
“Staff were affected by Covid-19 with some offices that hardly opened. There were also issues with the eNatis system which had to be activated on a phased-in approach after everything was shut down during the earlier stages of lockdown.
He added that they questioned why learner’s licences, driving licence cards, temporary driving licences and professional driving permits that between 26 March and 31 August was extended until 31 January 2021, but not vehicle license disks.
“Vehicle trade number licences that expired during the period from 26 March to 31 May was extended to 30 November, whereas vehicle licence discs, temporary permits and roadworthy certificates that expired between 26 March 31 May lapsed on 31 August with no further extended validity apart from the normal 21 days grace period after expiry… What should have happened is that validity periods for all categories should have been treated the same.
Hunsinger said the complaints they received ranged from individuals with personal use vehicles, to “big fleet owners, businesses, construction, agriculture and rental companies reported that many offices offered daily limited transactions which caused frustration, extended lines and a loss of time”.
As a result, the party said it would ask the Transport Minister to extend the deadline for license disk renewals to 31 January next year.
(Compiled by Makhosandile Zulu)
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