JOHANNESBURG - As South Africa marks Transport Month, the department is moving to stop drivers' licences and Traffic Register Numbers (TRN) from being used as ID documents.
The move follows a 2023 investigation which found widespread misuse of Traffic Register Numbers.
Minister Barbara Creecy said her department has already blocked 300,000 inactive numbers, with holders of the remaining ones being asked to verify their details with Home Affairs.
“We have already embarked on the first phase of this process that has led to us being in a position to block 300,000 of dormant TRNs on the system. So it's almost half of those that were found to be fraudulent. We're in phase two, which is the balance of these TRN. And what we have done is we have called on those who believe that their numbers are bona fide and their identification is bona fide to seek the necessary verification from Home Affairs.
“It's not a huge number, I must say, that have come forward. I think the last time I looked there were about 8,000, which is about 1% of the numbers that were found to be fraudulent. We have given Home Affairs this information. We have also advised the relevant parties to contact Home Affairs and ensure that they are appropriately verified."