The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) has called on Transport Minister Barbara Creecy to halt traffic fines and the issuing of temporary licence penalties while a backlog of 690 000 driving licence cards remains unresolved.
“Fining motorists who are still waiting for their renewed cards would be unfair,” said Outa’s Advocate Stefanie Fick, in a letter to the minister last week.
The backlog stems from the breakdown earlier this year of the sole card‑printing machine, causing delays and prompting Outa to ask the Minister to consider extending the validity period for all cards to ten years.
Outa has urged the minister to implement “a moratorium on fines related to expired driver’s licence cards for motorists who have already applied for renewals” and for authorities to “ensure that no temporary licences are required until all backlogs have been cleared”.
It also urged the department to make this stance public.
“Public communication of this moratorium through all official channels, including RTMC platforms, provincial traffic authorities and traditional and social media,” would help to “prevent unwarranted fines and harassment of motorists,” Outa said.
This latest plea comes after the organisation uncovered serious irregularities in the process for acquiring a new licence card printing machine.
The tender was awarded in August 2024 after which Outa handed its investigation to the minister in September 2024, who passed it on to the Auditor‑General of South Africa (AGSA).
The AGSA confirmed the irregularities in March this year and the Minister announced that she would “go to court to overturn the tender award”.
“We are still waiting for clarity on the contract process,” said Outa.
