His visit to the province comes after he, merely a few days ago, announced a grace period for licenses, which was impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, and extended the deadline renewal to Friday 15 April 2022.

https://www.ofm.co.za/article/centralsa/314487/fs-motorists-breathe-a-sigh-of-relief

Mbalula, who is expected to be flanked by the MEC for Police, Roads and Transport, William Bulwane, will on Thursday do an on-site inspection and observe operations at the Lengau Driving Licence Testing Centre (DLTC) in Bloemfontein. Minister Mbalula will also scrutinise the progress of the controversial Hauweng Mangaung Bus Rapid Transit System.

https://www.ofm.co.za/article/centralsa/276475/angry-residents-halt-controversial-mangaung-iptn-

The minister will, after his oversight visits in Bloemfontein, drive further to Thaba Nchu to inspect the public transport route.

Mbulalu's visit to Bloemfontein and Thaba Nchu comes ahead of the Presidential Imbizo by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Saturday. He is at least the third minister this week to visit the Free State. Ministers who have now visited the province in line with their departmental work, include the minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation, David Mahlobo, with the Minister of Environmental Affairs, Maggy Sotyu, set to visit Welkom tomorrow.

The Transport Department says these infrastructure assessments and transport stakeholder engagements serve as a preview of the Presidential Imbizo that will be held in the province on Saturday 9 April.

In a Government Gazette published on Thursday 31 March, Mbalula said all learner licences, driving license cards, temporary driving licences, and professional driving permits that expire during the period between 26 March 2020 and 31 March 2022 are still considered valid and their validity has been extended for a further grace period.

The 31st of March was the last day of the grace period for the renewal of driving licences that expired at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. These are driving licenses that expired between 26 March 2020 and 21 August 2021.

Meanwhile, in a media statement, the provincial spokesperson for Transport, Hillary Mophete, said "up to 28 March 2022, 628,150 driving licence cards were produced, reducing the backlog of cards to be printed to 522,839. She said this is in respect of those who have already applied to renew their licences. 

The number of driving licence cards, falling in the category to whom the grace period applies, for which renewal applications have yet to be made, stands at 1,424,756 million. This is nearly half of the outstanding 2,813,016 licences. This means that only 49% of the affected motorists have applied for renewal of their expired driving licences. The primary reason for this is that motorists are not coming forward to renew their licences for a variety of reasons," Mophete added.

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