Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula: Plans for secure, technological advanced driver’s licence card unveiled

Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula Plans for secure, technological advanced driver’s licence card unveiled

As South Africa celebrates Transport Month, drivers can look forward to a new driver’s licence card design. The new cards will boast secure design features based on international standards. The new design was recently unpacked by Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula after Cabinet gave its approval to the replacement of the current licence.

REPLACING OBSOLETE TECHNOLOGY The new cards will be piloted in November 2023, said Minister Mbalula. The current card and the equipment used to produce it will be decommissioned on 1 April 2024.

However, drivers will have a five year grace period to transition to the new system. This means those who have recently replaced their licences will have until 31 March 2029 to get the new ones. This leeway will allow those who were affected by a backlog in processing driver’s licence cards due to the Covid-19 pandemic – around 2 million people – to reapply for the new cards only when they expire.

Adding to the backlog was faulty equipment and downtime systems at licensing centres. In November 2021, the production machine responsible for printing licence cards broke down as a result of an electrical surge caused by flooding from an adjacent building.

However, the introduction of this new improved technology should reduce future backlogs.

The new design is a step toward a more technologically advanced licencing system. The current card design was introduced in 1998, with the production equipment procured in the same year. This technology has since become obsolete, says Minister Mbalula.

The new licence cards were given the green light by Cabinet at the end of August.

In a statement, Cabinet said it had approved the replacement of the current Driving License Card to one with more secure design features.

“Technology has since evolved, and it is becoming expensive to maintain the current infrastructure. The new proposed card will make the country’s driving license compatible with the International Information Technology Personal Identification Compliant Driving Licence (ISO18013)”.

NEW DESIGN WITH SECURE FEATURES

The new cards are expected to have security features similar to the smart IDs launched by the Department of Home Affairs in 2013. The smart ID cards are difficult to forge due to security features such as holograms, laser engraving, fingerprint biometrics and biographic data. The card is also made of a durable quality polycarbonate material to prevent tampering.

The idea behind the change to the cards is to meet international best practice in terms of security features, and to upgrade the technology used to produce the cards, said Minister Mbalula.

The changes to the cards are expected to be published in the Government Gazette, and the procurement process for the new production infrastructure is expected to start this month, coinciding with Transport Month. Another aspect of the licence cards that may change is the validity period, said Minister Mbalula.

He said his department is considering calls to amend the current five-year validity period that is currently applied to driver’s licence cards. A team at the Road Traffic Management Corporation has completed on a report to establish the feasibility of extending licences to 10 years, and how this could impact safety and revenue. Minster Mbalula said he is currently considering the report and the department may approach Cabinet with new proposals for the validity period. •

TRANSPORT MONTH

Transport Month takes place every October and allows the Department of Transport and its entities an opportunity to showcase transport infrastructure services in aviation; maritime; public transport and roads. The month is also used to advance the country’s road safety initiatives. During Transport Month, the government aims to raise awareness of the important role of transport in the economy. October was declared Transport Month in 2005 during the Transport Lekgotla. It is used to raise awareness on the important role of transport in the economy and to encourage participation from civil society and business to provide a safe, affordable, accessible and reliable transport system in the country.