Africa-Press – South-Africa. South Africa is set to extend the validity of driver’s licences in the country from five to eight years to ease the pressure on the Department of Transport to process renewals.
However, some have warned that extending the validity of the licences and thereby reducing the need for renewals may impact the department’s revenue.
If the impact is severe enough, this could see the department rely more heavily on funding from the National Treasury to execute its functions.
Department of Transport director-general Mathabatha Mokonyana told Parliament that a decision has been made to extend the validity period.
“We have just concluded, although it took a little bit of time, the issue around extending the validity period of the driver’s licence card from five to eight years,” he said.
“Our analysis and assessment is that South Africans do favour a longer period. They don’t want to come back to us every five years. So we definitely will be moving to eight years soon.”
The department is yet to finish the cost-benefit analysis of moving towards an eight-year driver’s licence, with it unclear about the extent of the impact on revenue.
Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) CEO Wayne Duvenage said the impact on revenue should not be a concern for the department.
OUTA has consistently pushed for an extension of the validity period of a driver’s licence alongside other interventions to ease pressure on the renewal process, which has resulted in significant delays.
“Our view is that the government is not in the business of making money. It is in the business of covering costs,” Duvenage told eNCA.
“If you have fewer licences to issue, you will have fewer costs and will therefore need less revenue to cover those costs.”
OUTA initially proposed increasing the validity of licences to 10 years to reduce the administrative burden of renewing a licence every five years.
“It is not about costs or money for the government. It is about the efficiency of the government and to reduce the administrative burden and the costs we have to suffer as the public to renew these licences,” Duvenage said.
“Plus, it takes a lot of the pressure off the government with regards to the printing machine breaking down and services not being delivered.”
Duvenage said a potential move to a digital licence would be a game-changer and reduce costs for the department and the public even further.
Printing machine meltdown
Transport Minister Barbara Creecy
Early in November, Transport Minister Barbara Creecy came out in support of an extension to the validity period of licences to alleviate pressure on the department.
The state’s machine to print licence cards regularly breaks down as it is operating far beyond its design life, with it initially planned to be replaced in 2009. It has been in operation since 1998.
Despite plans to replace the printer being approved by the Cabinet in August 2022, no machine has been procured as the tender is repeatedly cancelled and reissued.
In a question and answer session in the National Council of Provinces, Transport Minister Barbara Creecy has thrown her weight behind such a proposal.
Creecy explained that her department has conducted a study comparing the validity periods of driver’s licences around the world to inform a process on extending South Africa’s beyond five years.
“I read that study when I was appointed. It noted that if you are driving a bus, taxi, or a heavy vehicle, the suggestion is that there should be more regular renewal of those licences,” Creecy said.
“We want to make sure that those people who are driving vehicles that can cause significant accidents or carrying passengers are renewing at least on a two-year basis for safety.”
“However, with regard to the driver’s licence for ordinary citizens like you and me, the suggestion is that we go for a period of eight years. I think that is something that we view in a favourable light.”
Such a shift would be significant for the Department of Transport, marking the first major change to driver’s licences in an extended period of time.
OUTA said this needs to be coupled with investment in a new printing machine for licence cards and backup machines.
“One machine is not enough. You need backup machines, and you need maintenance programs in place. You need to really do this professionally,” Duvenage said.
Duvenage explained that the existing machine should have been replaced over six years ago, with political interference preventing the procurement of a replacement.
Simply put, the machine can no longer cope with the thousands of new applications the Department of Transport receives on a daily basis.
In its 26 years of operation, South Africa’s licence printing machine has broken down 159 times, with the average backlog taking 40 days to clear.
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