Cape Town - A critical shortage of motor vehicle and driving licence forms supplied to municipalities has sparked concern of a disastrous impact on motorists and the economy.
Mobility MEC Ricardo Mackenzie penned an open letter to Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga and Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi this week, saying the Western Cape currently had a backlog of 750 boxes of forms that have not been supplied, from orders placed on July 7 and September 21 last year.
If the province runs out of the forms, there will be no motor vehicle licence discs; no vehicle registration certificates; no temporary driving licences; and applicants who pass the test will not get their learners’ licences.
“I will get straight to the point. The critical shortage of the ‘face value forms’, supplied by the national Government Printing Works and used for issuing motor vehicle and driving licences will have a disastrous impact on our people and the economy,” Mackenzie said.
“Government Printing Works staff have recently attempted to placate us by dispatching a few boxes ‘just to keep (us) going for a week’, with the assurance that they are ‘working on a plan to clear all back orders’.
“The City of Cape Town, with the highest demand, is now alarmingly close to the end of its stocks.”
Mackenzie’s office confirmed that neither the Transport nor Home Affairs departments had acknowledged the letter by yesterday.
The ministries did not respond to the Cape Argus requests for comment by the time of going to print.
Safety and security Mayco member JP Smith said the City could not be blamed if a crisis erupted.
“Mackenzie is doing the responsible thing and telling everybody there’s a screw-up coming ahead that is not our making and I have been trying to get the minister to fix it.”
The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) said it was “ridiculous” that law-abiding citizens had to suffer as a result.
Outa executive director of the accountability division, Stefanie Fick, said: “Motorists are dependent on government administrative processes and if the government is going to make rules, in other words you need a temporary licence, then they ought to make sure that there’s enough paper. It’s ridiculous. They’re the first people to pull you off and fine you for being without a licence.”
A vehicle registration and licence consultant in Brackenfell, Cheryl Sandmann, said they have felt the financial impact of the shortage.
As a consultant, Sandmann queues and obtains paying clients’ licences at offices on their behalf.
“We have to make photocopies, it depends on what office you go to, so it’s not as if it’s right through the province that you don’t get the forms.
“When you go to Green Point to pay fines or warrants, they don’t have papers.
“A runner I know has to bring their own photocopy paper with them.”
She said she hoped there would be a positive outcome from the letter to the ministers.
“If you go to Postnet and ask them to make you a copy of the application form, I think it’s about R1.50 a form, so it would depend on the number of renewals you were going to do for the day, as to how much it would cost for the ink and paper.”