Expired licence holders urged to honour renewal appointments
The MEC has further cautioned licence cardholders who secure bookings and not honour their appointments that the Department and RTMC are recording this trend, and that this may have a negative impact once the grace period has expired.
GAUTENG. – The Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport (GPDRT) has introduced a series of innovative measures to ensure the availability of slots for licence renewals. This follows a huge outcry of driver’s licence cardholders not being able to access online bookings
According to GPDRT, these measures include a move to proactively issue slots, prioritising license holders whose licence card validity expires in January 2021. In addition, the Department will be assisting cardholders by proactively availing slots so that those whose licence card validity has been extended till end of August 2021 are regularised efficiently.
Through the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC), licence holders are being sent text messages to alert them, ahead of time, of the expiry of their licence cards. They are further provided with available booking slots.
“We are, however, concerned about the poor up-take of the available booking slots. In the first two weeks of the new year, we have availed 17000 slots to cater to the 35000 driver’s licence cards whose validity expires in January this year,” said MEC for Public Transport and Roads Infrastructure Jacob Mamabolo.
Additionally, the Department, working in collaboration with its entity, the Gautrain Management Agency, will be rolling out kiosks at various Gautrain stations to conveniently enable holders of driver’s licences whose validity has expired to renew.
“In February, we are looking forward to adding even more capacity into the system. We will be introducing mobile Driving Licence Testing Centres, ensuring that all law-abiding citizens do not struggle to regularise the validity of their driver’s licences.
“It definitely can’t be government that hinders citizens from doing the right thing, hence we have made it a point that we make booking slots readily available,” added Mamabolo.
The MEC has further cautioned licence cardholders who secure bookings and not honour their appointments that the Department and RTMC are recording this trend, and that this may have a negative impact once the grace period has expired.
“We are indeed keeping records of these cardholders who fail to pitch up for their appointments. This trend is completely unacceptable and we encourage those who secure slots to make use of them.”
Mamabolo has also urged driver’s license cardholders to update their details on the eNatis system. To update their details, they can visit https://online.natis.gov.za/#/
The Department will be engaging with various stakeholders including insurance companies to encourage their clients to take advantage of the set of measures that will be introduced.
