Old Zimbabwean licence. File Photo
Zimbabwe is doing away with the metal licence and rolling out a new Southern African Development Community (SADC) compliant driver’s licence card from September this year.
Zim’s Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development, Felix Mhona said the design of the card is expected to be completed by the end of this month, reports The Chronicle.
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.”
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The upgrade brings relief to Zimbabwean truck drivers working in SADC countries including South Africa, as the new licence card is expected to incorporate the Defensive Driving Certificate (DDC) which is the equivalent of a professional driving permit in other countries.
The International Driving Permit (IDP) which also came as a separate card is expected to be incorporated onto the new licence card.
