Good news for anyone applying for a new driver’s licence card in South Africa

The driver’s licence card backlog has considerably improved in recent months, which bodes well for motorists waiting for a renewal.

According to the Department of Transport (DoT), the number of outstanding licence cards has more than halved since printing resumed in May.

South Africa’s only licence card printer broke down yet again in February and was only restored in early May.

This left the Driving Licence Card Account (DLCA) unable to meet demand for card renewals, resulting in a backlog that peaked at 756,227 orders.

However, this figure has since dropped to 336,028 as of mid-September, according to DoT spokesperson Collen Msibi.

The DLCA has been running non-stop on 24-hour shifts in an effort to reduce the backlog.

Msibi stated that the current goal is to bring the backlog to an “acceptable level” by the end of the year.

Based on its current rate of progress, the DLCA expects the outstanding orders to be fully cleared by December.

This is good news for motorists who are stuck without a valid licence and are still on the hook for fines if they fail to produce a car when stopped by traffic police.

The DoT is also working on a long-term but still temporary solution to prevent a similar crisis from happening in the future.

In July, Transport Minister Barbara Creecy announced that the DoT had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Department of Home Affairs to establish an interim licence printing system.

This will allow the Government Printing Works, which produced Smart ID cards and passports for Home Affairs, to print driving licences.

The department previously stated that the interim system would be operational within three months, which means it should become operational by October.

Boycott warning

While the backlog situation is improving, industry stakeholders have warned that the government is likely to face a driver’s licence boycott if it fails to address the long-standing issues with renewals.

Afriforum recently warned that the DoT could see a spike in driver’s licence non-compliance, citing previous examples of civil disobedience that surfaced in response to unreasonable government demands.

Campaign officer Louis Boshoff argued the government cannot continue to make driving licence renewals mandatory if it makes it difficult to comply with the obligation.

“History teaches us that civil non-compliance occurs when unreasonable obligations are imposed by the government. Just look at what happened with e-tolls and TV licences,” he said.

E-tolls were widely hated by Gauteng residents, who saw the gantry charges as another attempt to squeeze money from motorists’ wallets.

This led to a widespread boycott of the system where the overwhelming majority of road users refused to pay their bills.

This, combined with protest action from the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse, eventually led to the system’s shutdown in April 2024.

TV licences are suffering a similar fate, as the South African Broadcasting Corporation’s (SABC’s) funding model has collapsed due to a record-high non-compliance rate.

Roughly 85% of TV licence holders have refused to pay their fees, and the SABC is now exploring new avenues to address a R4.3-billion hole in its finances.