The South African government and regulatory bodies say they are making steady progress in the plans to introduce a new driving licence card in South Africa that would be secured on blockchain.
In its latest annual performance plan, the trading entity responsible for the production of driving licence cards in South Africa known as the Driving License Card Account (DLCA) said the new card will include a new design and security features.
The new driving permits are expected to launch in South Africa by October 2023 and according to the DLCA, the new permit process will give an opportunity to re-engineer and improve the efficiency of the card delivery service with the incorporation of blockchain technology.
In March, South African Transport Minister, Fikile Mbalula, in response to questions from the South African Parliament said that the design for the new driving licence card has now been completed and is undergoing a cabinet approval process.
Mbalula took to a media briefing in February to say the country’s new driving card will gain international recognition as a form of identification thanks to a number of security enhancement features.
Blockchain provides key features to make these plans possible and smoother. Having a user’s data captured on an immutable blockchain entry makes it faster and easier to acquire a license while also making it harder to fake these licences.
Basically, a blockchain-linked licence would provide a reliable method of verifying a driver’s identity. This would simplify policing of falsely obtained licenses and help to curb security threats that are steadily rising with ride-hailing and sharing apps like Bolt and Uber on top of dealing with issues of inexperienced drivers on the road.
The South African Government is considering an all-in-one smart card enrollment system combining a user’s identity document and driver’s licence to ease data collection from all other government channels and expand online license renewals in the years to come.
South Africa also plans to introduce an electronic driver’s license shortly after the new physical cards begin their rollout. The e-licenses will be accessible through motorists’ mobile phones.
This level of automation and synchronization could make it easier to pay toll fees once car registrations are also added to the blockchain. The South African transport minister emphasizes and promises the new system will help the country out of its ongoing card renewal crisis.
South Africa has been plagued with corruption and administrative delays at license testing centers, a two-month breakdown of the country’s only card printing machine, and glitches in the online booking system on top of the Covid-19 pandemic all of which hampered motorists’ ability to renew their cards in 2020 and 2021.
Just days before the final deadline of 5 May 2022 came around, the DLCA had said that around 1.2 million motorists still had not renewed their licenses by the start of May even though several grace periods had been given.