The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RMTC) is finalizing an agreement with the Health Professions Council of South Africa, which will enable motorists applying for or renewing their driver’s license to do an eye test at any optometrist of their choice.

Minister Fikile Mbalula made this announcement during the 2022/23 Budget Vote on Wednesday. The RMTC is finalizing the agreement with the Health Professions Council of South Africa, which would enable them to an eye test at any optometrist of their choice and the results are directly uploaded in the system,” he said.

The minister said improving efficiencies at the Driving License Testing Centres (DLTC) level will be driven by a new service delivery that will not only improve the experience of motorists but will vastly cut downturn-around times.

He also said that the deployment of this smart enrolment of this infrastructure this financial year will further improve the processing times as the units are linked to Home Affairs to validate the identity of the motorists.

“Since January 2022, the Driving License Card Account (DLCA), has produced one million and twenty-six thousand six hundred and seventy-four card. And as on 16 May 2022, we remain with a backlog of five hundred and forty-one cards. With the additional capacity we have introduced at DLCA, we are confident that this backlog will be addressed by the end of June 2022,” said Mbalula.