Traffic Register Number (TRN) certificates that have been dormant will soon be cancelled, following a decision by the Minister of Transport that could affect South Africans driving company cars and foreign nationals.
Following consultations with the various provincial MECs of Transport, Minister Barbara Creecy has taken the executive decision to cancel TRNs that have been dormant for 30 days.
The minister’s decision follows a comprehensive joint verification exercise conducted by the Department of Transport and the Department of Home Affairs.
It confirmed that certain TRNs, not all, issued between 1 January 2000 and 30 June 2023 require verification. The list revealed that many Traffic Register Numbers are dormant.
The system was created under the National Road Traffic Act, 93 of 1996, and Regulation 335 to enable persons who do not have a South African identity number to transact on NaTIS for lawful transport-related purposes, including vehicle registration, licensing, and driving licence-related transactions.
This includes foreigners and non-legal entities that cannot use a standard South African ID.
Non-legal entities include organisations that operate as non-legal entities, trusts and statutory bodies, churches or welfare organisations, clubs, and certain municipal, provincial, or government authorities.
Businesses operating as non-legal entities are also required to apply for a TRN, as are partnerships and sole proprietorships or one-man businesses.
The department will issue a formal notice on its official website listing dormant TRNs obtained between 1 January 2000 and 30 June 2023.
The website will also provide a portal for natural persons who obtained their TRNs between 1 January 2000 and 30 June 2023 to use if their numbers happen to appear on the dormant list.
According to the Department of Transport, the notice will be issued in accordance with Section 3 of the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act, 2000 (Act No. 3 of 2000).
This section requires the department to act in a procedurally fair manner and conduct administrative actions in a way that benefits all affected persons.
Traffic Register Numbers abused in South Africa
Earlier this year, the Portfolio Committee on Transport and the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs expressed their shock that the system had been opened to abuse and infiltration by syndicates.
“The abuse of the TRN by foreign nationals, a system that is meant to benefit them, is shocking and disappointing,” said the Portfolio Committee on Transport Chairperson, Donald Selamolela.
The committees were informed that nearly a million TRN applications were completed with fraudulent documentation, and that the non-expiring TRNs were being used as substitutes for visas.
Foreign nationals then use these documents to open bank accounts, buy expensive cars, and, in some instances, wrongly use them to justify their stay in South Africa.
“This speaks to the challenge of silo mentality across government departments, and we need to resolve that and get to the bottom of our challenges,” said Selamolela.
“Illegal immigration is hampering our country and pitting poor people against poor people.”
According to both committees, investigations around the abuse of Traffic Register Numbers mostly focused on operations at the Barkly West offices in the Northern Cape.
They were informed that within 20 minutes of a TRN being issued at this particular office, the documentation was duplicated in Cape Town using a single cellphone number to register numerous other TRNs.
The nationalities that abused the Traffic Register Number system most often were Nigerians, Zimbabweans, Somalians, and Ethiopians.
Selamolela called for greater regional cooperation in line with assurances from President Cyril Ramaphosa, and called for more funding for the Border Management Authority (BMA).
Loading ...
