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OUTA Calls on Transport Minister to Intervene

OUTA has asked Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy to waive fines and temporary licences for those whose new driving licence cards are stuck in the backlog.

The Department of Transport reported a backlog of 690 000 driving licence cards last week (see here), arising from the breakdown earlier this year of the sole card-printing machine (see OUTA’s statement of 9 May on this here).

On 17 June, OUTA’s Advocate Stefanie Fick wrote to the Minister, asking her to consider extending the validity period for all cards to 10 years and, while the card backlog exists:

  1. Announcing a moratorium on fines related to expired driver’s licence cards for motorists who have already applied for renewals and that no temporary licences are required until all backlogs have been cleared.
  2. Public communication of this moratorium through all official channels including RTMC platforms, provincial traffic authorities and traditional and social media.
  3. Providing clarity to all enforcement officials to prevent unwarranted fines and harassment of motorists.

Fick says fining motorists who are still waiting for their renewed cards would be unfair.

Last year, OUTA’s investigation uncovered huge irregularities in the process for buying a new driving licence card machine. The tender was awarded in August and, in September, we handed our investigation report to the Minister, who in turn passed this on to the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA). In March this year, the Minister announced that the AGSA’s investigation confirmed irregularities, and said she would go to court to overturn the tender award.

We are still waiting for clarity on the contract process.

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