MUNICIPAL DYSFUNCTION: City debt and procurement negligence paralyse Joburg’s driving licence centres

The collapse of basic service delivery in Joburg has spilled over into the City’s driving licence testing centres (DLTCs). Motorists arriving at centres are turned away or encounter long queues and locked doors when trying to renew licence discs or apply for driving documentation.

The chaos is the direct fallout of a 13-month financial standoff – with the City admitting it owes more than a year’s worth of licensing fees to the province –compounded by severe municipal procurement negligence.

City of Johannesburg spokesperson Nthatisi Modingoane confirmed that the City had failed to transfer provincial licensing agency fee collections to the Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport (GDRT) since June 2025.

While the City publicly blames localised logistics for the long queues, the withheld agency funds expose a bitter intergovernmental debt dispute. In retaliation for the unpaid fees, provincial authorities placed South Africa’s economic hub on a strict supply quota for face-value paper – the specialised stationery required to print official driving licences and vehicle registration forms.

Debt dispute forces rationing

When motorists renew vehicle licence discs or register transport units at municipal centres, the City acts as an administrative agent for the province – collecting public funds, retaining an agreed commission and remitting the primary revenue share to provincial coffers.

However, written replies show the City has withheld these transfers for more than 13 months. According to Modingoane, “The City is aware of the outstanding agency fee payments owed to GDRT dating back to June 2025. This matter is actively being handled at an executive intergovernmental level between the City leadership and provincial authorities.”

Modingoane confirmed that while operations continue, allocations of face-value paper are tightly managed: “All City of Johannesburg-managed DLTCs currently have secure face-value document stock available. To support ongoing demand, the GDRT recently increased our weekly allocation from 25 to 30 boxes of secure face-value paper.

“While this allocation requires tight inventory management, it currently sustains daily operations, and no centres are closing due to a lack of face-value paper. Because weekly shipments of 30 boxes arrive regularly from GPDRT, full face-value printing operations remain ongoing across our centres.”

GDRT spokesperson Melitah Madiba and the office of MEC Kedibone Diale-Tlabela did not respond to detailed questions regarding supplier contracts, distribution failures, and potential credit control holds at the time of writing.

Two-tier licensing

The dispute between Joburg’s municipal licensing centres and the provincial “smart DLTCs” boils down to money and control. Municipal centres are run by the City, which collects fees but has reportedly failed to pay what is owed to the provincial transport department. In contrast, the provincial smart centres operate on a cashless, appointment-based system directly under the GDRT.

For residents, the difference is stark: at municipal centres, closures and backlogs mean wasted trips and monthslong delays in renewing licences, while the provincial centres remain open with extended hours and faster turnaround.

The standoff over unpaid fees has effectively turned service delivery into a tug-of-war, leaving ordinary drivers caught between two spheres of government.

Procurement lapses

Compounding the secure face-value paper rationing is an internal supply collapse within the City's own procurement structures.

City-managed DLTCs across Johannesburg have experienced acute shortages of standard A4 paper and printer cartridges – a direct result of municipal negligence, as the City allowed its supply contract to expire without a replacement tender in place.

Modingoane stated: “City-managed DLTCs, along with other City departments, are currently experiencing shortages of standard A4 printer paper following the natural expiration of the City's previous supply contract.

“A replacement contract is currently being finalised to resolve this across all centres. In the interim, this specifically affects the printing of general booking receipts (for learner’s/driver’s licence applications, PrDP [professional driving permit] renewals, and administrative queries).”

Regarding ink supplies, Modingoane acknowledged, “Cartridges have recently been received across centres, though stock for specific printer models remains limited as procurement catches up.”

This lapse has left administrative staff unable to issue standard physical receipts, prompting queue standoffs and creating an informal secondary market in which touts outside testing centres sell printed application forms to desperate motorists.

Modingoane emphasised that backlogs are targeted at specific units: “Day-to-day walk-in centres are not experiencing major backlogs; when temporary localised delays occur, motorists are directed to nearby operational centres. Backlogs are primarily confined to bulk processing centres. As batches of A4 paper and printer cartridges arrive, dedicated teams at these bulk facilities immediately process and clear any pending administrative work.”

Services suspended

Despite the City’s official assertions that all facilities remain operational, physical evidence and recent service suspensions across testing stations tell a starkly different story. On-the-ground notices confirm that the paper and stationery crisis has caused sudden operational halts across City-managed DLTCs.

In late July, the Randburg DLTC was forced to suspend all driving licence renewals, learner’s test bookings, and professional driving permit applications.

According to statements issued by the acting director for licensing, Heston Mabiya, during the closure, the facility ran out of essential consumables – including face-value document paper, standard A4 printer paper and toner cartridges – leaving staff unable to process transactions or clear queues.

This sudden administrative breakdown triggered immediate exploitation. Outside the gates, opportunistic street touts preyed on desperate applicants, charging up to R30 each for official municipal forms that are meant to be free.

Similar disruptions have hit other major hubs. At the Sandton/Marlboro motor vehicle registration authority, management turned away motorists after posting a formal service interruption notice citing an acute lack of face-value paper required for vehicle licence discs and registration certificates.

And regional facilities at Langlaagte and Midrand continue to experience widespread administrative delays, with staff unable to issue standard printed booking receipts due to the City’s expired stationery contract.

‘Systemic failure’

Civic advocacy group JoburgCAN (an initiative of the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse) condemned the City’s financial handling, warning that the failure to process basic paper supplies reflects a broader fiscal crisis within the metro.

“Every week we get new admissions of systemic failure and liquidity collapse in the City despite assurances that there is no financial crisis; this is just another example,” said Julia Fish, JoburgCAN executive director. 

“The City also fails to hold national and provincial departments to account for unfunded mandates that they should receive grants or payments for, because the internal financial triggers and records are not functional enough to execute those invoices.

“Overall cash flow across all sections of government is slowing down local delivery and hampering municipalities as much as non-payment by residents.”

Widespread breakdown

With municipal centres operating under inventory quotas and lacking basic paper, traffic law enforcement has been forced to adapt.

Modingoane noted that “motorists are encouraged to maintain up-to-date documentation where possible. Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) officers operate under practical operational guidance, taking into account systemic service delays when assessing expired discs or driver's licences on the road.”

The failure at the licensing centres is part of a much bigger financial and administrative breakdown across Joburg’s Public Safety Department. The department admitted in its third-quarter report that it’s struggling with severe overspending and budget freezes.

A R177.4-million overspend on employee salaries and allowances across the department – driven mostly by overtime – has drained funds from essential services. Just like the expired paper contracts at licensing offices, Public Safety’s capital spending fell to 0% this quarter, halting basic equipment purchases and facility upgrades. DM

What motorists should do

To bypass the escalating crisis at City-managed facilities, motorists are advised to utilise provincial-run, cashless “smart DLTCs” operating directly under the Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport. Key provincial facilities in and around Johannesburg and greater Gauteng include:

• Gautrain station smart DLTCs: Sandton Gautrain Station, Midrand Gautrain Station and Centurion Gautrain Station.

• Shopping sentre smart DLTCs: Maponya Mall (Soweto), Protea Glen (Soweto), and Denlyn (Tshwane).

• Regional & township smart DLTCs: Atteridgeville, Umphakathi Mall (West Rand) and the RTMC Waterfall Park facility in Midrand.

Motorists can also renew vehicle discs online via the official national portal (online.natis.gov.za) or participating major banking apps. However, bulk transport operators and daily commuters remain caught in the administrative friction between municipal non-payment and provincial supply controls. DM