PRESS STATEMENT by THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT, HON. F. T. MHONA (MP), on Awareness of The Upcoming NEW DRIVERS' LICENCING SYSTEM AND THE NEW SADC COMPLIANT DRIVERS' LICENCE CARD, 7 June 2023.
The Second Republic is committed to formulating robust legal, policy and administrative mechanisms to improve the country's Road Safety Performance as it seeks to achieve the targets set within the National Development Strategy (NDS) 1.
In January this year, we held the National Road Safety Indaba which resolved to introduce speed limiting devices, vehicle tracking devices and a Government monitored Vehicle Tracking System for all public service buses. The Vehicle Tracking System will ensure compliance to prescribed speed limits, and make it easier to identify, *in real-time*, the driver of a particular bus. Pursuant to this, legal frameworks to introduce speed limiting and monitoring devices will soon be introduced.
Our commitment is on improving the enforcement capacity of all traffic law enforcement agents by embracing Information Communication Technology (ICT) and digital technologies to record violations and enforce traffic regulations. This is also consistent with the objectives of NDS 1 to modernise the economy using ICT and other digital technologies. My Ministry will also establish a National Call Centre for the public to report those using unsafe vehicles and report negligent and reckless driving.
The new National Driving Licence System that we will be launching soon will also enhance our capacity to develop an electronic Database of all licenced Drivers which will be linked to all relevant stakeholders and enforcement agencies.
The 13 categories of the new Driving Licence conform to the requirements of the United Nations Convention on Road Traffic; International Organization for Standardization and International Electrotechnical Commission. The 13 categories of the new Driving licence will, amongst others, make provision for the combination categories of a vehicle and trailer. The new categories will also accommodate the different sizes of vehicles and prevent the current scenario where drivers are tested on a small vehicle and then be authorised to drive a very large vehicle which the driver may not be able to control in a safe manner.
The transitional arrangement from the Present Numerical Classes to the New Alphanumerical Categories is as follows:
| Present class | New alphanumerical code | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | DE | Articulated passenger vehicle for the carriage of persons having more than 16 seats, and may be combined with a trailer not exceeding 750kg GVM |
| Class 2 | CE | Articulated goods vehicle exceeding 7 500kg GVM may be combined with a trailer not exceeding 750kg |
| Class 3 | A | Light motorcycles and medium motorcycles with power not exceeding 35KW, with or without a side car. |
| Class 4 | BE | Light articulated vehicle with a GVM not exceeding 3500kg and not having more than 8 seats may be combined with a trailer not exceeding 750kg. |
| Class 5 | BE* | Previously class 5 only for Agricultural or Industrial tractors or any other suitable vehicles/machinery. |
After the transitional phase, the new Driving Licence will consolidate the Professional Driver's Permit and the Defensive Drivers Certificate onto a single card. Professional Drivers will be progressively certified unlike the current scenario whereby one instantly becomes a Professional Driver on obtaining Class 2. We will now have the following Professional Driver Permit Categories:
Code G for Goods vehicles with a Gross Vehicle Mass exceeding 3 500kg. The applicable minimum age for this category is 18 years;
Code P for Passenger vehicles with a seating capacity of more than 8. The applicable minimum age for this category is 25 years; and
Code D for Dangerous Goods vehicles for the transportation of Hazardous and Dangerous Goods. The applicable minimum age for this category is 25 years.
All Professional Drivers' Permits will be renewable after every two (2) years and the drivers will be required to go for Eye Test to assess vision and the ability to focus on and discern objects. Similarly, the drivers' biometrics will also be periodically updated in the System.
Other drivers outside the Professional Drivers category will also undergo Eye Test and updating of their biometric records after every 5 years.
Similarly, after this transitional phase, the full spectrum of following codes will apply:
Codes A (18 years), B1 (18 years) and A1 (16 years) motorcycle/motor powered tri-/quadricycle/light motorcycle;
Codes B (16 years), BE (18 years) light motor vehicle<3 500kg having not more than 8 seats /may draw a light trailer not exceeding 750kg GVM.
Codes C (21 years) and CE (21 years) >7 500kg GVM
Codes C1 (18 years) and C1E (21 years) >3 500kg GVM but not exceeding 7 500kg GVM/ with trailer not exceeding 750 kg.
Codes D1 (25 years) and D1E (25 years) omnibus >8 seats but not more than 16 seats/with trailer not exceeding 750kg.
Codes D (25 years) and DE (24 years) omnibus > 16 seats/ may be combined with a trailer.
The upcoming new Driver's Licence is fully compliant with the standard specifications of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and East African Community (EAC). This demonstrates our commitment to harmonize and standardize driver training, testing and certification within the entire 25 Tripartite Regional Countries i.e. Republics of South Africa, Mozambique, Namibia, Botswana, Malawi, Zambia, DRC, Angola, Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, Burundi, Djibouti, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia; United Republic of Tanzania; Kingdoms of eSwatini and Lesotho; States of Eritrea and Libya; Arab Republic of Egypt; and Federal Democratic Republics of Ethiopia and Somalia and Zimbabwe.
My Ministry has put in place a strategic operational plan to clear the backlog of 600 000 applicants waiting for their Driver's Licenses to be printed and issued by Central Vehicle Registry (CVR).
Given the huge backlog size, my Ministry will use a phased approach in order to avoid congestion at Central Vehicle Registry (CVR). I am pleased to inform you that during the first phase, we will prioritize those with manual Certificates of Competency issued between 1 January 2019 and 30 June 2019. Subsequently, other drivers on the backlog list will be informed through electronic and print media, on when they can visit their nearest CVR and Vehicle Inspectorate Department offices to have their biometric details and pictures captured into the system. In line with Government's decentralisation thrust, all drivers will collect their Licences from the nearest ZIMPOST Offices dispersed across the country.
Once the new Drivers' Licence System is fully operational, all drivers who would have passed their Driving Competence Tests will be able to receive the new Licence within seven (7) days. This convenience to our citizens comes from the automation processes and the instant printing capability of this highly secure plastic card.
I hold all these measures as an articulate testimony as expounded by His Excellency, The President of The Republic of Zimbabwe, Cde. Dr. E.D. Mnangagwa, towards sustainable road safety initiatives. These measures speak volumes of our collective efforts in improving the country's Road Safety Performance and achieving our targets towards reducing the number of road crashes.
I THANK YOU