The Automobile Association (AA) is calling on the government to be transparent about its plans to get new printing equipment.
Earlier this month, the Department of Transport (DoT) said it’s on track to produce smart card driving licences and find suitable service providers.
It was meant to start printing them two months ago but experienced challenges.
The association’s Layton Beard feels the department should openly discuss the challenges it’s facing and how it plans to resolve them.
The AA also asked the DoT to clarify the issue of the extension of the validity period of driving licences from the current five-year period to either eight or ten years.
In August 2022, the then Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula indicated that research and input from provincial Departments of Transport supported extending the validity period of driving licences from five to either eight or ten years.
AA says citizens have a right to know what processes were followed, and how much it will cost.
The association’s Layton Beard feels the department should openly discuss the challenges it’s facing and how it plans to resolve them.
He says they want to know why printing specialists, Government Printing Works (GPW) which manufactures passports and visas, weren’t involved in the process.
“’The GPW has proven technical expertise to print cards such as these as it already prints the national ID cards that are used by millions of South Africans.