Zimbabwe to roll out Sadc compliant driver's licences in September

ZIMBABWE will be ready to issue the new Southern African Development Community (Sadc) Compliant Driver's Licence by September 30 this year and the design of the card is expected to be completed by the end of this month, Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister Felix Mhona has said.

The development is in line with Sadc's Protocol on Transport, Communication and Meteorology which was adopted in 1996.

According to Article 6.10 of the Sadc Protocol on Transport, Communication and Meteorology, "a member state shall issue, upon successful completion of a test of a certain licence code, a driving licence for the categories to be agreed upon while also adopting a harmonised format for driving licences."

"Each member state shall recognise driving licences issued according to the agreed Sadc codes and format by other member states or an international driving permit as corresponding and equal to its own.

"A licence issued in one member state shall be valid for the driving of a vehicle in respect of which it has been issued in any other member state."

Also, according to the article: "Member states shall harmonise learner's licence testing and codes with a view to encouraging the mutual recognition of each other's learner's licences and the provisions of the article shall also apply to professional driving permits or other documentation issued for the same purpose while member states shall require drivers to carry their driving licences and professional permits, as the case may be, at all times during a journey on a public road."

Said Minister Mhona in an interview: "We are on course with our Sadc Driver's Licence, by 30th of June we would be done with the design card, and issuance will be ready by 30th of September 2022."

Minister Mhona also revealed that his ministry will clear driver's licences backlog up to those which were taken in January 2020, and thereafter the backlog will be cleared using the new Sadc compliant licences.

Last month, Minister Mhona said the Central Vehicle Registry (CVR) had acquired equipment that will enable it to clear a backlog of 240 000 driver's licences.

The backlog was a result of obsolete equipment at CVR which was further compounded by applications for new and lost licences, a situation that forced new drivers to use paper and temporary driver's licences.

"As of the backlog of driver's licences, we are clearing until January 2020 using the available consumables then going forward, we will continue clearing the backlog using the new licences," said Minister Mhona.

CVR services more than 25 Vehicle Inspectorate Depots (VID) dotted around the country, which are, however, not metal driver's licence insurers.