Latest news with #Outa
The Herald
a day ago
- Automotive
- The Herald
Transport department ‘weighing' extending validity of driving licences
'The tender was awarded in August and in September we handed our investigation report to the minister, who passed it on to the auditor-general. 'In March this year, the minister announced that the [auditor-general's] investigation confirmed irregularities, and said she would go to court to overturn the tender award. We are waiting for clarity on the contract process,' said Fick. The department's Collen Msibi has confirmed the ministry received the letter from Outa and it is 'being processed internally for the minister's attention'. 'T he driving licence card agency of the department is also conducting a study of the financial implications on the extension of the validity period of driving licence cards,' Msibi said, on Outa's recommendation for an extended validity period. 'Motorists can drive with an expired card for up to three months before being eligible to be fined, provided they can show proof they applied for a new card before their current card expires.' 'If the card had expired at the time of application for a replacement, they must apply for a temporary driver's licence and keep proof thereof in the vehicle. 'A temporary driver's licence is valid for six months, or until the new or replacement card is issued.'
IOL News
3 days ago
- Automotive
- IOL News
Call for Transport Minister to suspend penalties for motorists amid driving licence backlog
The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) has asked Transport Minister to suspend penalties related to expired driver's licence cards for motorists who have applied for renewals. Image: File photo: INLSA The Department of Transport is facing mounting pressure to address a significant backlog of driving licence cards, currently standing at 690,000, following the breakdown of its sole card-printing machine in April. As the department works to reduce this backlog, which has decreased by approximately 43,000 from the previously reported 733,000, stakeholders are urging Transport Minister Barbara Creecy to waive fines for motorists affected by the delays. The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse's (Outa) Advocate Stefanie Fick on Tuesday wrote to Creecy and asked her to consider announcing a moratorium on fines related to expired driver's licence cards for motorists who have already applied for renewals, and that no temporary licences should be required until all backlogs have been cleared. She also requested the department to consider issuing public communication of this moratorium through all official channels, including the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC), provincial traffic authorities and traditional and social media. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading Fick added that the department must provide clarity to all enforcement officials to prevent unwarranted fines and harassment of motorists. Department of Transport spokesperson, Collin Msibi, confirmed it received the letter which is being processed internally for the Minister's attention. Fick said it was important to note that during the Covid-19 pandemic, the department recognised the exceptional circumstances and issued blanket extensions on the validity of expired driver's licences, allowing the public reasonable leeway while the system was caught up. She said this temporary relief was an example of fair, compassionate governance in the face of operational disruption. 'We urge the department to take a similar approach now, especially given that this crisis stems from internal systemic failures rather than a national emergency,' Fick said. Creecy recently revealed that the department spent over R12 million on the repair and maintenance of the printing machine over the past three years. The department has been trying to procure another machine for years, but repeatedly cancelled and reissued the tender. In August last year, the department announced that it had appointed Idemia and Security South Africa as the preferred bidder for a tender to print new driving licence smart cards. However, Outa's investigation uncovered irregularities and handed the report to Creecy, who in turn passed it to the Auditor-General (AG). In March, Creecy announced that the AG investigation identified instances of non-compliance with the required procurement procedures, and added that she instructed her department to lodge a High Court application for a declaratory order regarding the tender. Fick said Outa is still waiting for clarity on the contract process. Cape Argus
The Citizen
3 days ago
- Business
- The Citizen
Salga looking for ideas to help municipalities despite solution already offered
Outa have offering a free service delivery reporting app to municipalities for three years, but only one metro accepted. The largest municipalities across South Africa are on the hunt for new ideas to solve service delivery challenges. An Intercity Innovation Challenge was launched last week with two core themes in mind — township tech transformation and intelligent service delivery. Spearheaded by the South African Local Government Association (Salga), assistance with the project will be provided by business incubator specialists and tertiary institutions. Tech solutions for municipalities The search for ideas will focus on the Johannesburg, Tshwane, Ekurhuleni, Cape Town, Buffalo City, Mangaung, eThekwini and Nelson Mandela Bay municipalities. The initiative plans to pair enhanced service delivery and digital technologies with the values and goals of the G20, National Development Plan 2030 and Integrated Urban Development Framework. 'This national initiative aims to chiefly surface community-powered, tech-enabled solutions that promote inclusive development and foster innovation, improve public service delivery and management decision-making,' stated Salga. The Innovation Hub, Innovate Durban and Wits University's Tshimologong Precinct will be judging the ideas based on challenge-specific criteria. The innovation challenge is a spin-off of a similar project that has been running in Johannesburg for several years. Last October, the City of Johannesburg offered R1 million for the best way to fix the city, but no winners have been made public to date. Two specific challenges The township tech transformation challenge will be a call for solutions to infrastructure, unemployment and limited digital access in informal settlements. Submissions must be innovative, original, feasible, scalable and demonstrate the potential for social impact through clear presentation. Submissions for the intelligent service delivery challenge must meet the same criteria but must address 'reactive, inefficient, or disconnected' service delivery. 'Intelligent service delivery means using real-time data, predictive maintenance, user feedback, and automation to provide services more efficiently, transparently, and sustainably,' stated Salga. Winning ideas will receive funding and early-stage developmental support, which will include technical and business mentorship. Existing Outa solution Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) CEO Wayne Duvenage considered the Salga initiative a 'good idea', as he believes the body was mandated to assist local government interests. 'As it is, many municipalities outsource their services to external consultants, due to their incompetence on matters such as finance, engineering, road maintenance, etc,' Duvenage told The Citizen. However, Duvenage explained that Outa had been offering a free service delivery reporting app to Salga and the same metros for the past three years. 'This was a live, geolocation incident reporting tool which enables residents to report potholes, traffic light malfunctions, water leaks, sewage leaks, signage issues, street lights, etc,' he said. He added that this data would be fed directly into the municipality's enterprise resource planning systems, but that only 10 small municipalities and the City of Cape Town had taken up the free offer. 'They just didn't want to take it up. I think it may also have something to do with civil society owning the process instead of themselves,' suggested Duvenage. 'The app would have allowed us as civil society to benchmark cities with the best levels of repair times, and we believe the poorly managed cities did not want that, so they simply didn't respond,' he added. Intellectual property retained The window for idea submissions will be open between 13 June and 15 August, with an announcement on winning ideas scheduled for November. Participants retain ownership of their intellectual property, including current government employees whose employment contracts take precedence over the project terms and conditions. '[We aim] to unlock the under-leveraged innovation ecosystem by supporting low-cost, high-impact solutions that use technology to improve quality of life, generate income, or expand access to essential services,' stated Salga. Despite the snub, the Outa CEO hoped the innovation initiative would be fruitful and provide results for municipalities. 'Hopefully, Salga's Intercity Innovation Challenge will be able to introduce their own reporting tool or solution in this regard,' Duvenage concluded. NOW READ: JRA allocated just 1% of amount needed to fix Johannesburg's roads
IOL News
3 days ago
- Automotive
- IOL News
Outa urges Transport Minister to suspend penalties for motorists amid driving licence backlog
The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) has asked Transport Minister to suspend penalties related to expired driver's licence cards for motorists who have applied for renewals. Image: Karen Sandison / Independent Media The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) has called for the Minister of Transport, Barbara Creecy, to waive fines and temporary licences for those whose new driving cards are stuck in the ongoing backlog. This comes as the Department of Transport (DoT) scrambles to clear the driving licence card backlog, which was caused by the breakdown of the sole card-printing machine earlier in April. Last week, DoT reported a backlog of 690,000, down roughly 43,000 from the 733,000 that was announced a week ago. On Tuesday, Outa's Advocate Stefanie Fick wrote to Creecy and asked her to consider announcing a moratorium on fines related to expired driver's licence cards for motorists who have already applied for renewals and that no temporary licences should be required until all backlogs have been cleared. She also requested the department to consider issuing public communication of this moratorium through all official channels, including the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC), provincial traffic authorities and traditional and social media. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ Fick added that the department must provide clarity to all enforcement officials to prevent unwarranted fines and harassment of motorists. 'Recent reports confirm that the Department of Transport is currently experiencing a backlog of approximately 733,000 to 747,500 unprinted licence cards, with delays attributed to issues with card machines, administrative inefficiencies and high demand," Fick said, adding that many law-abiding motorists could be issued fines by law enforcement officials for not physically possessing their renewed cards, even when they hold receipts or valid temporary licences proving compliance. She said this practice would be unfair, adding that the public is being penalised for failures which is not their making but because of a broken system that is currently unable to meet service delivery expectations. DoT spokesperson Collin Msibi confirmed that the department received the letter and it is currently being processed internally for the Minister's attention. Fick said it was important to note that during the Covid-19 pandemic, the DoT recognised the exceptional circumstances and issued blanket extensions on the validity of expired driver's licences, allowing the public reasonable leeway while the system was caught up. She said this temporary relief was an example of fair, compassionate governance in the face of operational disruption. 'We urge the department to take a similar approach now, especially given that this crisis stems from internal systemic failures rather than a national emergency,' Fick said. Creecy recently revealed that the department has spent over R12 million on the repair and maintenance of the printing machine over the past three years. The department has been trying to procure another machine for years, but repeatedly cancelled and reissued the tender. In August last year, the department announced that it had appointed Idemia and Security South Africa as the preferred bidder for a tender to print new driving licence smart cards. However, Outa's investigation uncovered irregularities and handed the report to Creecy, who in turn passed it to the Auditor-General (AG). In March, Creecy announced that the AG investigation identified instances of non-compliance with the required procurement procedures, and added that she instructed her department to lodge a High Court application for a declaratory order regarding the tender. Fick said Outa is still waiting for clarity on the contract process.
The Citizen
4 days ago
- Automotive
- The Citizen
Outa calls for no fines during driver's licence backlog
Although it was not their fault, people who cannot produce their physical driver's licences are fined due to the printing backlog. Civil action organisation Outa has called on the minister of transport to pause fines for people who cannot show their driver's licences due to the backlog when the printer broke down for the second time. Outa has asked Minister Barbara Creecy to waive fines and temporary licences for people waiting for new driving licence cards that are stuck in the backlog. The Department of Transport reported a backlog of 690 000 driving licence cards last week due to the breakdown earlier this year of the sole card-printing machine. Advocate Stefanie Fick, executive director for the accountability division at Outa, wrote to Creecy last week, asking her to consider extending the validity period for all drivers licence cards to 10 years while the card backlog exists: Place a moratorium on fines related to expired driver's licence cards for motorists who already applied for renewals and that no temporary licences are required until all backlogs are cleared. Public communication of this moratorium through all official channels, including RTMC platforms, provincial traffic authorities and traditional and social media and Providing clarity to all enforcement officials to prevent unwarranted fines and harassment of motorists. Fick says fining motorists who are still waiting for their renewed cards is unfair. ALSO READ: Why has the questionable driving licence card tender not been overturned? Driver's licence card machine tender suspended after Outa pointed out irregularities Outa's investigation last year uncovered huge irregularities in the process for buying a new driving licence card machine. The tender was awarded in August, and in September, Outa handed its investigation report to the minister, who in turn passed this on to the Auditor-General of South Africa. In March this year, the minister announced that the AGSA's investigation confirmed irregularities and said she would go to court to overturn the tender award. 'We are still waiting for clarity on the contract process,' Fick says. In her letter to Creecy, Fick expresses Outa's 'deep concern about the growing frustration faced by motorists who may face unfair treatment or may even be penalised for expired driver's licence cards, despite having followed due process'. Fick writes that while the department works through the backlog, law enforcement officials may fine many law-abiding motorists for not being able to physically show their renewed cards even when they hold receipts or valid temporary licences proving compliance. ALSO READ: Outa: Public misled about driving licence card validity Public penalised for failures not of their own making regarding driver's licences 'The public is penalised for failures not of their own making but due to a broken system that is currently unable to meet service delivery expectations. It is important to note that during the Covid-19 pandemic, the department recognised the exceptional circumstances and issued blanket extensions on the validity of expired driver's licences, allowing the public reasonable leeway while the system caught up. 'This temporary relief was an example of fair, compassionate governance in the face of operational disruption. We urge the department to take a similar approach now, especially given that this crisis stems from internal systemic failures rather than a national emergency.' Fick also emphasises the urgency of extending the validity of driver's licences from 5 years to 10 years, a change that would reduce administrative pressure on the system, save costs and align South Africa with global best practice.
