Cape Town - Outgoing Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula says there are “engagements” on extending driver’s licences beyond the five-year expiry period.
DA MP Benedicta van Minnen had asked if he would extend the validity beyond the five-year period in light of the recent breakdowns in the machine used to print licences, which resulted in a backlog.
Mbalula said: “The decision on whether to extend the validity of driver’s licence cards beyond the current five-year period will be made once all engagement processes have been finalised.”
He said the licence backlog had been eradicated by July last year, and the Driving Licence Card Account (DLCA) had been attending to card orders as they arrived. He said the machine had been operating since 1998 and had the end of its operational life.
“To mitigate the risk of breakdowns, thus ensuring business continuity, the DLCA performs preventative maintenance on the machine twice a year,” Mbalula said. Furthermore, there is a maintenance contract in place from the original equipment manufacturer.”
Speaking to the Cape Argus, Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse chairperson Wayne Duwenage said: “India (expiry date) is at 20 years, some countries are at 15. When there were problems with the delays (in issuing licences), we asked Minister Mbalula to extend the validity to eight years. There is no need to renew licences every five years.
“We did a presentation to the minister. We showed him where around the world these averages are.”
Duvenage said an extension was already gazetted in 2013 by former Transport Minister Dipuo Peters, but quickly reversed because they realised they lost money. “There was no explanation or reason given why it was withdrawn,” he said.
Mbalula’s special adviser, Lawrence Venkile, who previously issued press releases, referred queries to Transport spokesperson Lwazi Khoza.
She was asked who the department had engaged and when the last meeting was held.
She referred the Cape Argus to a recent statement.
Mbalula recently announced that the Transport Department will trial a new driving licence card this year as it phases out the current machine. It will introduce driving licence cards linked to smart-card technology and other technology, such as blockchain.
He said the Transport Department would drive the initiative through the Cabinet to extend the expiry date.
The cards would be replaced by new-look cards, compatible with the International Information Technology Personal Identification Compliant Driving Licence, he said.
Mbalula made reference to the possibility of licences’ validity being extended to eight years.