Gauteng licensing to speed up

2010-02-09 21:02

Johannesburg - Gauteng plans to increase capacity (to test for licences) at provincial and municipality licensing centres by employing additional examiners, the provincial transport department said.

Gauteng MEC for roads and transport Bheki Nkosi said in a statement on Tuesday that the department would also ask municipalities to allow for longer booking schedules to decrease the backlog in testing for drivers' licenses.

"We are looking at a schedule that accommodates bookings for at least three months in advance, at the minimum," said Nkosi.

He was responding to a statement by Gauteng chief magistrate Daniel Thulare that motorists could drive without licenses as long as they could prove that their learners' licences had expired while waiting for a date to be tested for a drivers' licence.

Transport Minister Sibusiso Ndebele has report Thulare to the Magistrate's Commission over his comment.

"We are appealing to the residents of Gauteng not to be carried away by the reported remarks and deliberately put themselves in a situation where they would be on the wrong side of the law," said Nkosi.

"The law does not allow for anybody to drive without a valid learner’s or driver’s licence."

Nkosi admitted that there was a significant backlog in the issuing of drivers' licenses in Gauteng.

"We have been constantly seeking ways to address the backlog [and to] provide an efficient and streamlined service to the public," he said.

Nkosi said the backlog for testing learner drivers had been eliminated.

"The main problem is that there is still a backlog with the testing for driver's licenses, with the testing [for] heavy vehicles being the major one."

Nkosi did not say when the improved measures would be in place.

- SAPA