By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Pretoria high court has dismissed an application by AfriForum in which it sought to review a regulation providing for the expiry of driving licence cards after five years.
AfriForum had argued that the National Road Traffic Act of 1996 is contrary to the five-year validity period and leaves no room for a regulation that stipulates that license cards expire.
In his ruling, Acting Judge JJ Strijdom explained that Afriforum had submitted its appeal against the driving licence card regulations too late and had not provided sufficient reasons for the delay.
Strijdom ruled that Section 172 (1) of the Constitution could not be interpreted that a court must entertain the merits of every review, regardless of the delay and the absence of a proper justification for that delay.
“If it meant that there would be no scope for the delay rule in our common law, section 7 of the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act would be meaningless,” Strijdom’s judgment stated.
“I concluded that the explanation for the delay offered by the applicant is not reasonable and failed to cover the entirety of the period of the delay.”
“In the result, the application is dismissed with costs, including the costs of two counsel, where applicable.”
Afriforum launched its legal effort against the Minister of Transport and Road Traffic Management Corporation on 8 August 2023.
The Road Traffic Management Corporation has welcomed the ruling.
Spokesperson Simon Zwane says they felt AfriForum sought to create confusion and disorder in the enforcement of driving licence regulations.
“They had argued many points which the court had dismissed. We believe that they were simply trying to avoid getting people not to pay for traffic fines they had received for driving without valid driving licence cards.
“But the court had dismissed their attempts, and we are happy with that. We are inviting people to work with us and to be compliant.”
Lobby group Afriforum said its legal team was investigating the possibility of an appeal.