OUTA questions 8-year driving licence revenue motives

The Department of Transport has confirmed it is moving ahead with plans to extend the validity of driving licence cards from five to eight years, a shift long requested by motorists and civil society groups.

Stefanie Fick, Executive Director of the Accountability Division at the Organisation for Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA), says the change makes sense.

"You have a driver's license for life unless you are naughty and a court takes it away from you. It's only the card that we have to renew."

Internationally, renewal periods range from five to 20 years, with a global average of around 10.

However, the Department is still awaiting research on the financial implications of reducing how often licences must be renewed, a concern Fick argues should not drive the decision.

Renewal fees, Fick insists, should cover only basic administrative costs.

"Government can't make money out of our citizens. It's just not right.

"Renewing your driver's license card should be an easy process; it should be as cheap as possible for the motorists."

Fick also criticised the slow adoption of digital systems, noting that an online licence platform already exists through the Department of Communications but has not been integrated with Transport or Home Affairs.

She questions whether delays in digitisation and the continued use of private licence-card printing contracts persist because 'someone is making money somewhere'.

The extension still needs to be gazetted, and implementation is likely only next year once research is completed and Parliament signs off.

"In our view, it is literally just the decision that she's [Transport Minister Barbara Creecy] putting in the government gazette and, you know, Bob is your uncle. But because there are political animals, she will probably go to Parliament and just make sure that the policy is acceptable, and then hopefully we are looking at a timeframe of somewhere next year."

To listen to Fick in conversation with CapeTalk's Lester Kiewit, click below: