In a statement, the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) says the Department of Transport is about to get a brand new minister, but little has been done to resolve its numerous problems.Several questions remain concerning the plans and proposals announced by outgoing minister Fikile Mbalula.
There is a proposal to extend the validity of licence cards beyond five years, a plan to procure a new card production machine to replace the faulty one, and a plan to address widespread corruption at Driving Licence Testing Centres (DLTCs).
The key to resolving these issues lies with the transport minister who ever he or she might be, according to Outa’s senior legal project manager, Andrea van Heerden.
In a statement, Outa asked the minister of transport for regulations extending the validity period of driving licences to ten years.
“In 2013, the then minister Dipuo Peters gazetted regulations extending the validity to 10 years but later withdrew this without explanation,” said Outa.
The organisation now wishes to uncover why the delay has lasted so long. In February 2022, the minister announced that he had commissioned the Road Traffic Management Cooperation (RTMC) to research the extension issue.
The minister Mbalula told Outa that the department would decide on the status quo of five years after commissioned research involving the comparison of different countries was completed.
“Should we arrive at a conclusion informed by the research, we will immediately spring into action,” the minister said.
A year later, there is still no decision. At last reporting, Mbalula said that his department would put forward a proposal to extend the cards to eight years, but this never materialised.
President Cyril Ramaphosa announced last night that Fikile Mbalula would be replaced by Sindisiwe Chikunga as Minister of Transport. businesstech