Durban - Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula is urging drivers with expired licence cards to hurry up and renew.
Giving an update on drivers licence interventions in Midrand, Gauteng, on Thursday, he said all learner’s licences, driving licence cards, temporary driving licences and professional driving permits that expire during the period that commenced from March 26, 2020, up to and including 31 August 2021, are deemed to be valid and their validity periods are extended for a further grace period ending on 31 March 2022.
He added that the deadline for the end of the grace period for the renewal of driving licences was set for August 31, 2021.
The Minister said nationally, around 1.2 million licence cards are not renewed while there are at least 2.8m expired licences.
"This represents 42.4% non-renewal, with 57.6% of all expired licences having been renewed," he said.
The total backlog of driving licences that will have expired by 31 March 2022, that have yet to be renewed, stands at 2.1 million nationwide.
— FIKILE MBALULA | MR FIX (@MbalulaFikile) February 3, 2022
Of this number, those that fall within the COVID-19 extension account for 70% at 1.5 million. pic.twitter.com/wVDxtNrvPW
Mbalula said the backlogs at the Driving Licence Testing Centres are attributed to the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, which resulted in restrictions that led to the closure of DLTCs," he said.
He added that the previous extensions of the validity period were meant to enable an orderly clearing of the backlog. However, capacity challenges put tremendous pressure on DLTCs in processing renewals of driving licences.
Last month, IOL reported that the card printing machine had been repaired, and DLTC staff were working around the clock to clear the backlog.
Mbalula said with an estimated production of 400 000 cards per month, the DLCA estimates that the 2.1 million backlog will be cleared by September 2022.
To help speed up the process, Mbalula announced the opening of an additional two DLTCs in Waterfall Park in Midrand and Eco Park in Centurion.
He said these two centres opened their doors on 1 October 2021 and operate seven days a week, from 7am to 9pm.
IOL