Johannesburg – The Road Traffic Management Corporation’s (RTMC) is calling on motorists with expired licence cards to renew their documents and not wait for the last minute.
The Corporation has noticed that motorists whose driving licences expired between 26 March 2020 and 31 August 2021 are not taking full advantage of the extended validity period of driving licence cards to renew their documents.
The Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula has extended the validity of driving licence cards that expired between 26 March 2020 and 31 August 2021 to 31 March 2022 in an effort to assist driving licence cardholders to comply with legislation.
In addition, the Minister launched two driving licence centres in Gauteng increasing available capacity in the province by 26 000 more slots per month.
In a statement, the corporation said all other provinces, except the Northern Cape, have introduced extended operating hours in 106 major centres and are opening on weekends in an effort to clear the backlog.
The two RTMC operated centres at Waterfall Office Park in Midrand and Eco-Origins Park in Centurion operate from 7 am to 9m daily including Saturday and Sunday.
“Experience from the two RTMC centres shows that 25% of applications for renewal are from people affected by the lockdown and covered by the extension of the validity period whereas 75% are from applicants who are exempted from the extension.
“As a result, the backlog of driving licence cards that expired between 26 March 2020 and 31 August 2021 is moving slowly. The backlog now stands at 1 476 853. Gauteng accounts for 509 888 driving licence cards not yet renewed, followed by KwaZulu Natal with 242 170, Western Province 192 519, Limpopo 134 886, Mpumalanga 122 566, Eastern Cape 107 601, Free State 71 165, North West 69 350, and Northern Cape 26 708.
“Motorists are warned not to be complacent as the March 2022 deadline is fast approaching and chances are that another extension will not be granted. It remains a great concern that 30% of applicants who book for renewals on the online platform do not show up to finalise the application,” the corporation said in a statement.
Meanwhile, motorists who applied for the renewal of their licence cards when the two RTMC centres opened in October are now able to collect their cards. Messages are being sent to those whose cards are ready for collection.
Ms. Natalie Labuschagne said, “I have never experienced service like this before, I have told friends and family members if they need to renew as driving licence card they must use the Eco Park DLTC”.
Although her sentiment was echoed by Mr. Sazi Nxumalo and Charles Seeley and who encouraged motorists to renew their driving licence cards before going to festive season holidays.
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