All South African motorists are urged to renew their expired vehicle discs and driving licences before the end of August 2021. According to the Automobile Association (AA), the government indicated that no further extensions will be considered.
In the same vein, the AA states that time is also up for the government to fix the renewal system while calling on the government to find lasting solutions to the renewal problems. “The failure of people to renew these documents is mainly due to the broken system they are forced to use, instead of their unwillingness to do so,” the AA says.
The Association further mentioned that many people have failed to renew their documents, despite the grace periods granted, “through no fault of their own.” Even though people display a willingness to renew their licences or discs, many are faced with excessively long queues caused by reduced staff at DLTCs, who often work with limited resources.
“Government acknowledges that there are problems at the Driving Licence Testing Centres (DLTCs) which renew these documents. Yet, despite this, no further extensions will be considered, meaning people are at the mercy of a broken system. These problems persist and will continue to persist until government takes a bold decision to replace – not repair or revamp – the current IT systems along with increased human resources at DTLCs.
“We have received many emails and calls from the public complaining that computers, printers and eye machines are not working at the DLTCs. Reduced staff numbers makes the situation worse,” says the AA.
The AA went on to say that the inability to renew their documents will force many to drive with expired and invalid discs and licences due to not having a choice.
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