Transport minister Fikile Mbalula has announced that in the coming months the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) will compile a report on the proposal of extending South Africa’s driver’s licence validity period to 10 years, as reported by BusinessTech.
Currently, local motorists must renew their driver’s licence cards every five years.
The Automobile Association (AA) has urged the government on this matter as a way of dealing more effectively with renewals, as South Africa is actively suffering from a backlog of almost 600,000 driver’s licence renewals.
“We welcome the fact that this is being discussed and reviewed and look forward to the findings from the research which, we are certain, will support our view that this should happen,” said the AA.
Backlog
As of 1 February 2022, a total of 128,436 licence cards have been produced since the card printing machine that was broken down since November 2021 returned to service.
The backlog now stands at 597,000 licence renewals, with the Gauteng province being responsible for the largest portion – 211,926.
The Department of Transport (DoT) said the backlog will take around four months to work through, while additional downtime is expected for March for preventative maintenance.
Forecasts by the DoT also revealed that an estimated 2.1 million motorists will need to renew their licence cards before the end of March, which is expected to further exacerbate the current backlog.
Grace period
In addition to extending the licence card renewal period, the AA also called on the government to extend the grace period for motorists with expired licence cards.
In August 2021, Mbalula announced a grace period for motorists whose licence cards expired between 26 March 2020 and 31 August 2021. These cards now remain valid until 31 March 2022.
“Given the enormous challenges of renewing driving licences, and in the context of the current backlogs, we believe an extension to the grace period beyond 31 March would have been prudent.” said the AA.
“As it stands, the number of those needing to renew is growing and government must do everything it can to accommodate them.”
Keyword: 10-year driver’s licence renewal period for South Africa – Government looking at options