OUTA urges government to halt driver’s licence fines in 2025

Organisation for Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) insists that authorities should stop issuing driver’s licence fines until the Department of Transport (DTC) resolves its backlog and fixes its systems.

This call comes amid growing frustration over delays in card printing. After the latest breakdown, the DTC admitted it would take four months to clear the backlog.

In May, Transport Minister Barbara Creecy revealed that roughly 733,000 driver’s licences were still waiting to be processed, nearly half of the peak 1.3 million backlog recorded in 2022/2023. While the DTC typically processes applications within 14 days, that timeline has now stretched to six weeks. Authorities have urged motorists to keep their expired licence card and proof of application to avoid penalties.

SUSPEND DRIVER’S LICENCE FINES

Furthermore, the DTC said 269 000 back-logged cards had already been cleared. However, those numbers don’t add up.

BusinessTech reports that with only 2,400 driver’s licence cards being printed daily, clearing the backlog will take over a year. In response, the Organisation for Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) has urged Minister Barbara Creecy to suspend fines for expired licences. The non-profit argues that government should waive penalties and the need for temporary licences for motorists whose cards are delayed due to no fault of their own.

OUTA believes it’s unfair to fine motorists who are waiting for their card renewals. Likewise, in light of on-going printer breakdowns, OUTA argues the validity of all licence cards should be extended to 10 years. The civil action organisation has been highly involved in the license printing debacle. It was OUTA’s independent investigation last year that uncovered significant irregularities in the tender procurement process.

TENDER IRREGULARITIES

In turn, the Transport Minister passed OUTA’s report onto the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA). AGSA noted that while a new printing machine cost R486 million, a tender worth R898 million was irregularly awarded. Many believe this near doubling of cost was to facilitate new digital Driver’s Licence Card Accounts (DLCAs).

French company, Idemia, raised plenty of eyebrows when it won the massive tender. The firm is considered a leader in biometrics and smart technology and has associations with government all around the globe. There is still no clarity from the department on whether a new tender will be awarded. Or if driver’s licence fines will be suspended in the meantime.