Gauteng government causing motorists extra insurance costs and unnecessary fines as licensing fiasco continues

26 May 2021

Gauteng motorists are frustrated beyond belief due to the licensing renewal fiasco at the province’s licensing centres. In March, MEC for Roads and Transport in Gauteng, Jacob Mamabolo, gave the Portfolio Committee on Roads and Transport in the Gauteng Legislature the undertaking that the problem with booking license renewal slots was to be resolved as a matter of urgency.

However, the problem has only worsened since the MEC’s undertaking. Motorists in the province are not able to make appointments for the renewal of their driver licenses while “agencies” who are getting paid by motorists seem to have access to slots that they sell to motorists.

This is an untenable situation and the MEC needs to come clear immediately about what the problems are with the booking system and why motorists are unable to make their own bookings.

The DA in Gauteng has called on the MEC to conduct an audit of slots made available by licensing centres and whether all these slots made it onto the Natis platform for bookings. The MEC ignored our plea and as a result the problem persists.

The MEC needs to come clean on what the problems are with the online licensing booking system and why motorists cannot access slots to renew their licenses.

We require immediate action by the MEC on the release of licensing slots as the current system is a complete failure. We can no longer put motorists in a position where they have to drive without licenses as it affects their insurance cover and are fined when pulled over by traffic officials.

Issued by Fred Nel, DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Roads and Transport, 26 May 2021