Bad news for anyone trying to renew their car licence in South Africa

Licence centres in South Africa have run out of the specialized secure paper needed to produce vehicle licence discs and registration documents.

As a result, motorists are being turned away, leaving them unable to renew their licence discs.

The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) highlighted reports that licence centres in Johannesburg have run out of the secure paper used to print vehicle licences and registration documents, saying that this was the result of poor planning rather than an unforeseen problem.

OUTA CEO Wayne Duvenage said that the shortages are another example of motorists paying the price for a licensing system that is failing to perform its most basic functions.

“This is just bad planning. It’s specialised, it has to be ordered. You have to plan for this,” Duvenage told HOT Business.

“It’s not like they didn’t know that they were running out of paper. It’s not like they don’t know how many people are coming to have their licences done and renewed. So this is just sheer incompetence, quite frankly.”

Duvenage said this issue extends beyond Johannesburg and is indicative of much bigger problems with the country’s licensing system.

“I don’t think it’s necessarily an isolated problem as far as Johannesburg is concerned, but probably a symptom of a wider national dysfunction,” he said.

Motorists are the ones who bear the brunt of these failures, as many have to take time off work and spend hours at licensing centres only to be turned away.

“People plan their days, they take time off work to go and get these licences done. It takes a long time. It’s a hell of an effort to get there, only to be told we’ve run out of paper. Basic stuff is just unacceptable.”

The CEO said that South Africa should have modernised its licensing system a long time ago by moving to a digital format, rather than relying on outdated technology.

“We should have been far ahead of where we are. The whole licensing system should be digitised on your phones by now. We’re still running very old systems,” he said.

“I don’t know why the Department of Transport is just not getting its act together and getting all of this coordinated properly so that we can move into the new age of technology. We are so far behind.”

A headache for motorists

Duvenage said there is little practical proof that motorists can provide if they are unable to renew their licences due to system failures or paper shortages.

“It’s very difficult to have proof other than trying to photograph that you were there, but no police officer is going to do anything about that,” he said.

He recommended that motorists try to renew their licences as early as possible within the three-month renewal window. Additionally, he called for people to continue putting pressure on the government to modernize the system.

The CEO pointed out that OUTA had previously proposed extending the validity of South Africa’s driver’s licence cards from 5 to 10 years, which would reduce the pressure on licensing centres.

Duvenage maintained that the Department of Transport ultimately bears responsibility for these failures, regardless of whether the provinces or municipalities are involved.

“If you’re the Minister of Transport, this ultimately sits with you. You need to get everybody into the room and say this is grossly unacceptable,” he said.

“You could automate the whole ordering system. It’s not difficult. It’s not rocket science. It’s just a lack of will and competence.”

He also dismissed the suggestions that funding is the primary issue. “I believe we have enough money in this country to fix anything if every rand was spent where it should be spent.”

“It’s just that too much money goes missing for the wrong reasons. Corruption is probably the reason why they run out of money because they’re not spending it in the right areas.”

Duvenage argued that the department should have acted immediately when the paper shortages became apparent.

“They should have rushed off to wherever they have to go and get this paper and get it delivered,” he said.

“Whoever is in charge of transport in the city must take responsibility, but so should the Gauteng MEC for Transport and the minister.”

“They all know about it, and this is the biggest city. When people in Joburg are queuing up and being told we’ve run out of paper, it really is a problem.”