Transport Dept wary about rushing to extend validity of driving licence cards

The Department of Transport said it will not rush its plan to extend the validity of South African driving licences from five to eight years. 

The department said it had been considering the move for months, taking into account its financial implications. 

Speaking to 702 on Thursday, Transport Minister Barbara Creecy stressed that the decision must be backed by evidence. 

"I know we’ve been criticised for this, but I don’t want to take a decision and then later have everyone say it was not evidence-based," she said. 

Creecy’s comments came a day after the North Gauteng High Court ruled that the licence card tender awarded to French company Idemia was irregular.

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The court ordered the department to cancel the tender and re-advertise it within 30 days. 

To prevent disruptions, the court allowed the department to temporarily outsource the printing and issuing of licence cards to the Department of Home Affairs, while a new service provider was sought. 

"In the long term, the aim is to go digital and move to one card. In the short term, we have to consider that many citizens are not yet digitally savvy. You can’t just move straight into this, because there could be unintended consequences for both identification and law enforcement," Creecy added.