The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) has formally written to Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy, seeking answers on three critical issues plaguing South African motorists.
It wants clear feedback on the planned extension of the country’s driving licence card validity period, it wants to know why the country’s sole licence card printing machine continues to break down, and it has raised concerns surrounding the cancelled tender for the country’s new driver’s licence cards.
“Outa requests transparency and action and calls on Minister Creecy and the Department of Transport to urgently provide clarity on these three issues,” said CEO Wayne Duvenage.
“We believe these matters can no longer be ignored. The public deserves transparency on the government’s plans to modernise the licensing system and address the backlog. Minister Creecy must provide an official response and commit to long-term solutions.”
Driver’s licence card extension
Outa and other industry stakeholders have long advocated for extending the validity period of driver’s licence cards from five to ten years.
The entity asserts that this would alleviate administrative burdens, reduce backlogs, and lower costs for both motorists and the government.
Outa performed research in 2022 which showed that many countries with safe roads have driver’s licence validity periods of ten years or more, indicating that it would have no adverse impact on road safety in South Africa should the country follow suit.
Outa even met with then-Minister of Transport, Fikile Mbalula, to present its report, who subsequently committed to an eight-year validity period, but this was never implemented.
“It should also be noted that a ten-year validity period was gazetted in 2013, but then mysteriously withdrawn,” said Duvenage.
“We believe the Department of Transport cannot continue to avoid this issue.”
Printer breakdowns
South Africa currently only has one driving licence card printing machine which has been in operation for over 25 years and is the last of its kind still in service anywhere in the world.
As such, the machine is prone to breakdowns which causes significant backlogs and, in turn, forces innocent motorists to drive around with expired cards or pay for temporary licences despite following due processes.
The printer has reportedly broken down a total of 159 times over its lifetime, with the Department of Transport confirming in September 2024 that it was once again out of order and that the entity was sitting with a pile of about 380,000 unprocessed licence renewals.
Recent comments from the Department indicate that the card printing machine has been out of operation since January 2025 yet again, causing further delays in the issuing of new and renewed licences.
“Motorists are once again being subjected to delays and inconvenience due to the ongoing failures of this outdated system,” said Outa’s Duvenage.
“The Department must explain why the machine is not operational, despite previous repairs and maintenance contracts.”
New driver’s licence tender
Outa’s final query surrounds the recent irregularities discovered by the Auditor-General (AGSA) in the tender for the country’s new driver’s licence cards, which was awarded to French company Idemia Identity and Security.
The AGSA identified numerous discrepancies in the way the tender was handled, stating that the winning bid was non-compliant with supply chain management prescripts, the Public Finance Management Act, Treasury Regulations, and Driving Licence Card Account policies, amongst others.
Despite these red flags, legal counsel within the Department of Transport has allegedly urged the Minister to go ahead with the contract.
In the meantime, Minister Creecy instructed the Department to lodge a High Court application for a declaratory order on how to proceed with the situation.
“Proceeding with the Idemia contract despite AGSA’s findings would be a serious governance failure,” said Outa.
“If Idemia challenges the cancellation in court, Outa and possibly other tendering companies will not hesitate to oppose them.”
Outa requests transparency and action and calls on Minister Creecy and the Department of Transport to urgently provide clarity on these three issues.
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