Driver’s licence backlog
With the closure of many traffic departments – due to positive Covid-19 cases – and difficult access for people with comorbidities, more than 800 000 of those expired driver’s licences remain outstanding.
This is just one of the many factors that have created a massive backlog with regards to processing at the licensing offices, said Chris Cousens, managing director of CarLicence.co.za, a private licence renewal service.
The service has come under fire recently after some users experienced delays.
Cousens said the massive problem had been further exacerbated by the department of transport’s Covid-19 strategy plans, which were aimed at keeping staff and customers safe.
“The department has divided its staff into teams to ensure redundancy and continuity should a Covid case be picked up,” he said.
“One of the teams is on duty one week while another team will be on duty the following week. This not only ensures that if there is a Covid-19 outbreak in the one group that there is another group that is unaffected and able to continue processing.”
However, Cousens said this obviously had slowed down the process. He said the fact that the SA Post Office has taken over the social grant payments had also put a strain on the licence renewal ecosystem.
“People are avoiding the post offices as they do want to stand in the queue, which in turn puts pressure on the other bodies, such as ourselves,” he said.
Cousens also said delays often occurred when the person had outstanding fines, the licence had expired or there were outstanding documents.
Then there were instances where supporting documentation was required and these were not received in a usable format.
“We have had cases where ID photos are cut off, or the proof of address is older than three months. The correct documents will have to be sent and any outstanding fines or penalties need to be paid before the process can be completed,” he explained.
“Do not leave things until the last minute and ensure that all the documentation is correct.”