Durban - A year-long delay for a driving licence to be renewed was too long a wait for a Durban woman.
Some motorists have been waiting for a year for their licences after they renewed them, while others who did so earlier this year have already received their new cards.
A woman whose son had been waiting since last October, called the Pietermaritzburg motor licensing offices and he received his licence within two days of the telephone call.
Another woman said she had renewed her licence last year, but she had not received it.
She said the Transport Department no longer sent out notices, so she called repeatedly to check on the status of her licence.
“Every time I call, they say it is not ready yet. It’s not there,” she said.
The 54-year-old said the delay forced people to get the temporary licence.
She said she only received the temporary licence once because she could not afford to get one regularly.
She said it was a Catch-22 situation because even if one applied before the licence expired, one would still have to get a temporary licence because there was a further delay on the department’s side.
“If you’ve applied, you’re licensed but you just don’t have it. If you get stopped, you get fined,” she said.
She also said she would go to the licensing department on Monday to check the status again.
Some Durban residents said they renewed their licences between February and May, but they were also waiting.
Meanwhile, others received their new cards before the eight-week waiting period.
Mluleki Mntungwa, the Department of Transport spokesperson, said the backlog was a national issue which he believed had been resolved.
“Currently, we don’t have a backlog of driving licences, but we need to deal with the specific cases or isolated incidents,” Mntungwa said.
He said people who had not received their licences should go to their nearest testing centre to find out the cause for the delay and they would be advised accordingly.
Mntungwa also said the department had an active Facebook page which responded quickly to queries, but he felt it would be safer if people went to the testing centres.
Motorists are encouraged to renew their licences at least four weeks before they expire and a new card is usually ready in four to six weeks.
A driving licence renewal costs R250. A temporary licence costs R90 and it is only valid for six months.
Last month, Transport, Community Safety and Liaison MEC, Mxolisi Kaunda, visited the Rossburgh Driver’s Licence and Testing Centre to assess infrastructure improvements and service delivery.