Million still without new licence
2003-04-22 16:15
Cape Town - There are still more than one
million
drivers who have not converted to the new credit-card style drivers'
licence,
with a trickle of only about 5 000 a day seeking conversion.
According to government information agency BuaNews,
transport
department official Lisa Mangcu said there was no sign of an increase in the
number of conversions despite the looming deadline of April 30.
Last week acting Transport Minister Jeff Radebe ruled out a further
delay
in implementation of the credit card system.
It was delayed from the end of
February when it was clear that well over a million drivers had not
converted
from the old identity document licence form - which will be invalid from May
1.
Mangcu noted that there were only about 5 000 licence conversions taking
place countrywide at licensing stations.
"If motorists do not convert within the period before the deadline, they
will have to forfeit their right to drive," Mangcu told BuaNews.
The department had started running advertisements in the media and would
also issue reminders to those who might have forgotten about the deadline.
The department announced earlier this month that some licensing offices
in
identified problem areas in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape
would
open on weekends to accommodate those who wanted to convert their licences.
The department introduced the credit card format in March 1998 to be
implemented over a five-year period. It is expected that 6.5 million drivers
will have to apply for the conversion process every five years.
The department said the system would allow for the introduction of a far
more effective traffic policing and management system through the recording
of
de-merits for offending drivers.