{"id":17166,"date":"2025-07-21T12:46:34","date_gmt":"2025-07-21T10:46:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/?p=17166"},"modified":"2026-03-12T10:13:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T08:13:11","slug":"calls-grow-to-extend-sa-license-validity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/calls-grow-to-extend-sa-license-validity\/","title":{"rendered":"Calls Grow to Extend South African Driver\u2019s License Validity Due to Issuing Delays"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Calls are intensifying for the Department of Transport to extend the South African driver\u2019s license validity period urgently. This is as South Africa grapples with a crippling backlog in driver\u2019s license card production. Advocacy groups are demanding immediate intervention, including the suspension of fines and temporary licensing fees, until the crisis is resolved. Extending driver\u2019s license validity is seen as a potential solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-outa-urges-government-action\">Outa Urges Government Action<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/outa-sa-drivers-licences-validity\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Outa<\/a>) is leading the charge. Its executive director, advocate Stefanie Fick, has formally appealed to Transport Minister Barbara Creecy. She asks to consider extending the driver&#8217;s license validity from the current five years to ten. The organisation is also pushing for the waiving of penalties and temporary licence costs. These are for motorists whose new cards remain delayed due to administrative failures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This comes on the back of a staggering backlog of 690,000 licence cards, following the breakdown of the country\u2019s only licence card printing machine earlier this year. With hundreds of thousands of drivers affected, public frustration over license validity and accountability is growing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"gaute-1340802122\" class=\"gaute-inbetween-content gaute-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 30px;margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;\"><div class=\"gaute-adlabel\">Advertisement<\/div><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1852772760112594\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1852772760112594\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"1819787043\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-legal-challenge-over-controversial-tender\">Legal Challenge Over Controversial Tender<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Outa\u2019s CEO, Wayne Duvenage, revealed that the Department of Transport has finally filed court papers in the High Court in Pretoria. They seek to overturn a controversial R898 million contract awarded to Idemia South Africa. The contract was for the procurement of a new card-printing machine. However, it has since been dogged by serious allegations of procurement irregularities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Outa previously flagged the deal, submitting a comprehensive report to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/drivers-licence-validity-to-extend\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Minister Creecy<\/a> in September last year. That report, which outlined several irregularities, was passed on to the Auditor-General for deeper scrutiny. Duvenage has praised Minister Creecy for acting on the concerns raised, calling it a win for civil oversight and accountability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-irregularities-and-escalating-costs\">Irregularities and Escalating Costs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Outa, the court documents expose several flaws in the procurement process. Among the most alarming is a near R400 million cost increase. The original Cabinet-approved budget of R486 million ballooned to nearly R899 million. Other red flags include the use of outdated pricing, exclusion of material costs, inconsistencies in bidder scoring, questionable machine evaluations, and poor documentation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Such irregularities have intensified scrutiny of the department\u2019s decision-making and spending practices, especially at a time when public confidence in service delivery is waning. Extending driver\u2019s license validity may help restore some confidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"gaute-1455154181\" class=\"gaute-inbetween-content gaute-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 30px;margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;\"><div class=\"gaute-adlabel\">Advertisement<\/div><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1852772760112594\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1852772760112594\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"1819787043\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-afriforum-backs-licence-extension-and-fee-waivers\">AfriForum Backs Licence Extension and Fee Waivers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>AfriForum has joined Outa in urging Minister Creecy to provide relief for law-abiding motorists. The civil rights organisation wants temporary driving licences to be issued free of charge to individuals who renew their licences on time. These individuals are impacted by delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>AfriForum\u2019s spokesperson, Louis Boshoff, criticised the department for failing to adopt common-sense solutions like extending driver\u2019s license validity. He suggests including a longer validity period for licence cards. He argued that such measures would ease pressure on both the system and citizens. Many citizens are being penalised for bureaucratic failures beyond their control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-public-patience-wearing-thin\">Public Patience Wearing Thin<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The ongoing licence backlog has left many motorists in limbo and unable to drive legally, despite having followed the correct renewal procedures. With the backlog nearing 700,000 cards, pressure is growing on the government. They need to implement both short- and long-term measures to prevent further chaos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Minister Creecy has yet to respond publicly to the latest demands from Outa and AfriForum. However, with mounting legal challenges, watchdog scrutiny, and growing frustration from the public, decisive action to extend driver\u2019s license validity may be unavoidable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"gaute-806738898\" class=\"gaute-inbetween-content gaute-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 30px;margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;\"><div class=\"gaute-adlabel\">Advertisement<\/div><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1852772760112594\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1852772760112594\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"1819787043\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-citizens-demand-urgent-reforms\">Citizens Demand Urgent Reforms<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.citizen.co.za\/news\/south-africa\/call-to-extend-drivers-license-validity\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">country\u2019s motorists <\/a>are increasingly bearing the brunt of systemic inefficiencies. Extending licence validity, issuing temporary permits at no cost, and correcting procurement errors are being viewed as urgent reforms. These reforms are needed to restore faith in the transport department\u2019s systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unless swift action is taken, the ripple effects, from legal woes to road safety concerns, could further strain already fragile public services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Related article: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/limited-validity-on-driving-licence-cards\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Limited Validity on Driving Licence Cards Fails to Improve Road Safety, Say Experts<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Calls are intensifying for the Department of Transport to extend the South African driver\u2019s license validity period urgently. This is as South Africa grapples with a crippling backlog in driver\u2019s license card production. Advocacy groups are demanding immediate intervention, including the suspension of fines and temporary licensing fees, until the crisis is resolved. Extending driver\u2019s<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":17169,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_focus_keyword":"","rank_math_title":"","rank_math_description":"Calls are intensifying for the Department of Transport to extend the South African driver\u2019s license validity period urgently. This is as South Africa grapples...","footnotes":""},"categories":[50,48],"tags":[3404,8423],"class_list":{"0":"post-17166","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-gautrain","8":"category-transport","9":"tag-department-of-transport","10":"tag-outa"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17166","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17166"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17166\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17175,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17166\/revisions\/17175"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17169"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17166"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17166"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17166"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}