MEDIA STATEMENT

KWAZULU-NATAL TRANSPORT, COMMUNITY SAFETY AND LIAISON MEC BHEKI CELE'S RESPONSE ON REPORTS OF MASSIVE INVALID CREDIT CARD DRIVING LICENCES

MEC Bheki Cele today welcomed the announcement by the National Department of Transport that the Special Investigation Unit has been tasked to investigate and plug loopholes on Credit Card Driving Licenses being issued.

Card Verification Device:
Cele said in KwaZulu Natal, the department has distributed more than two hundred state of the art Card Verification Devices to its Road Traffic Inspectors to ensure that they are issued with the latest technology to ensure that holders of fraudulent and invalid driver’s licenses are apprehended, and the drivers removed from our roads.

He said the department has also put in place stringent measures to ensure that Driving License Testing Centers do not have the ability to authorize the issuing of invalid driving licenses. The Credit Card Driving License has a three dimensional Bar Code which is impossible to interpret or replicate.

Duplication of the Credit Card License:
"Fraudsters, who have tried to duplicate the Credit Card License using sophisticated photocopiers have discovered to their detriment that the cards can be discovered as fraudulent by the Card Verification Device," he said.

Finger Prints:
According to cele, in testing centers, operational realities have shown that fingerprints of elderly people, people missing digits, people working in industries like bricklayers and textile, mechanics etc loose their definitive fingerprints, which cannot be read, and therefore the card producing facility will out of reality issue the Credit Card Divers License that will read "No Print", but are considered valid and lawful. The department has been put on stress by hundreds of drivers, especially the elderly who have this sign on their cards. We want to ensure them that their licenses are indeed valid and lawful.

Eye Tests:
He said in respect of eye tests, the Road Traffic Act gives applicants the right to produce certificates from Optometrists that indicate the competency of an applicant to hold a license. This covers cases involving the elderly, and a number of special cases, like people using special lances. The South African Registered Optometrists Association has produced a standard form which is used to ensure the system cannot be cheated. Licenses issued in the manner are also considered valid and lawful.

In 2003, the department also introduced the Live Scan Unit. Through the touch of a finger, the device can read the Antis history of the applicant with regard to renewals, it also has a build in eye testing facility that is free from human interference, this are used in almost all testing stations in KwaZulu Natal.

Conversion of International (Foreign) Licenses
South Africa is a signatory of international agreements that govern the conversion of international licenses. This allows for foreign nationals to substitute their foreign licenses for South African ones under conditions that the applicant’s license has a photograph, that it is written in English, and if not, an official letter from the applicant’s embassy is attached confirming the validity of the license.

The decision to approve these applications is centrally controlled and cannot be issued at the licensing station, but only by the Antis Help Desk.

South Africans living overseas have also benefited from this agreement in that South Africans with foreign licenses who want to convert to South African issued licenses can do so under the same conditions. South Africans living abroad who also want to convert their licenses to those of their host countries are also able to do so.

"The Department of Transport in KwaZulu Natal has also throughout the years been a leading force in the fight against corruption and fraud in the issuing of licenses. It is this province that Asiphephe, the no no-nonsense road safety programme was initiated. We have also established dedicated units, like the Public Transport Enforcement Unit (Operation Shanela) and its sub-unit, The Traffic and Transport Inspection Unit with deals with fraud investigations to rid the province of this major menace to road safety," he said.

"We want to ensure the people of this province that we have a proud history of fighting corruption, and ensuring a hundred percent compliance with our traffic laws," he said.

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