Extension of licence renewal grace period welcomed
Renewal of all licences – learner’s licences, driving licences, professional driving permits, and temporary licences – which expired between 26 March 2020 and 31 August 2021 – extended.
South Africans were relieved to hear that the deadline of renewals of all license licences – learner’s licences, driving licences, professional driving permits, and temporary licences – which expired between 26 March 2020 and 31 August 2021 – has been extended.
Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula announced that the department would be extending the process to 31 March 2022.
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Gauteng accounts for the highest number of licences not yet renewed at 437,819 out of a total of 980,038 expired licences, representing 44.6 percent non-renewal.
“The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in restrictions that led to the closure of Driving Licence Testing Centres (DLTCs), resulting in backlogs,” Mbalula said.
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“The previous extensions of the validity period were meant to enable an orderly clearing of the backlog.”
The Automobile Association (AA) says the extension of the validity period of all licences to the end of March 2022 is also a welcome step, but that it remains concerned that the measures may not be implemented in time for those with expired documents to renew them.
“The Minister noted a lack of capacity at Driving Licence Testing Centres (DLTCs), corruption, the slow speed and unavailability of the National Traffic Information System (NaTIS), faulty live capture units (for fingerprints and ID verification), and faulty eye testing machines as the main challenges facing the centres in the provision of adequate services.”
“We are naturally happy that many of the solutions we have been proposing for some have been considered. Among these is the establishment of more Driving Licence Testing Centres (DLTCs), the introduction of mobile centres and kiosks at busy centres, extended operating hours of the DLTCs, the ability of DLTCs to accept online payments, and the submission of eye tests by optometrists directly to NaTIS.”
“This all makes sense and will hopefully ease pressure on the system. But now it is all a question of implementation,” the AA said.
