AfriForum has taken the Minister of Transport and the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) to court over the legality of South Africa’s five-year validity period for driver’s licences.
The court proceedings occurred this week on Monday, 7 August, at the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, where the civil rights organisation argued that the expiration of driver’s licences is irrational and unlawful, according to MyBroadband.
Court battle
The law firm representing AfriForum, Hurter Spies, has argued that the regulations limiting the validity period of a licence card conflict with the terms of the National Road Traffic Act (NRTA), which determines that South Africa’s licences can never expire.
AfriForum and Hurter Spies contends that the validity periods are inconsistent with the provisions of the NRTA, the latter of which makes no reference to a “driving licence card that is valid for a period less than the prescribed period of validity of a driving licence.”
Additionally, the organisations said the five-year validity period is inconsistent with NRTA regulation 101(2)(a), in which the Transport minister has exercised their power to prescribe the period of validity of a driving licence as indefinite.
The five-year expiration date is therefore “not related to any power of the Transport Minister to regulate the operation of a vehicle on a public road, and also not related to the better carrying out of the provision or the achievements of the NRTA.”
The organisations concluded that the expiration of driver’s licences is “unreasonable and irrational, in that there is no apparent reason for the transport Minister prescribing a five-year period of validity.”
Consequently, AfriForum wants the court to declare that fines and penalties related to driver’s licences only apply to individuals driving without a valid licence, either because they do not have one or because it was suspended or cancelled.
Alternatively, the civil rights group wants the section of the NRTA that gives the minister unrestricted powers to determine the expiration of driver’s cards to be declared unconstitutional and invalid.
An ongoing debate
AfriForum’s court battle is the latest in a series of movements calling for some form of change to South Africa’s current five-year driver’s licence validity period.
Earlier this week, transport minister Sindisiwe Chikunga announced that she was prioritizing a proposal to extend the duration of a card from five to eight years, though this proposal still needs to be approved by the national cabinet.
The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) has previously argued for a 10-year card, in line with policies seen in many countries around the world, but it has expressed doubts as to whether AfriForum’s argument will hold up.
“We believe that if you read the NRTA and the regulations together, it is clear that the intention was to create a process for a driving licence card, as proof that you have a licence (that does not expire), to be renewed every 5 years,” said Outa’s executive for accountability, Stefanie Fick.
“It is accepted practice worldwide that licences or licence cards must be renewed.”
While Outa hasn’t thrown its weight behind AfriForum’s approach, it has stated on multiple occasions that it believes the current five-year system is a bureaucratic process that ultimately functions as little more than a money-making scheme for the government.
South Africa is expected to get new licence cards as soon as March 2024, and these should be valid for eight years if cabinet approval is achieved in time, according to former transport minister Fikile Mbalula.
Keyword: South African driver’s licences should never expire – Court battle