The Ministry of Infrastructure has announced plans to increase the validity of driving licences from the current five years to 10.

This is enshrined in a ministerial order that was approved by Cabinet on February 13, which will determine the validity and requirements for renewal of the national driving license.

Speaking to The New Times, last week, the State Minister for Transport, Dr Alex Nzahabwanimana, said the ministerial instruction would be sent to the Minister for Justice for scrutiny before it can be published in the Official Gazette.

This will come as a relief for motorists, for it is a year since the first of the new electronic licences, issued in 2009, expired and many, especially long-distance truck drivers, have faced problems across borders.

For those aged 70 and above, the validity of a licence is three years, while those aged 65 and above will be issued with a licence valid for the total of remaining years to clock 73.

"The general idea was due to the fact that as people get older, their capacity to concentrate recedes and it was decided that it will be important that there be an occasion for the physician to reassess a driver’s capacity,” Nzahabwanimana said.

"There was need to capture the reality. When someone is 85, and you give them a driving licence valid for 10 years, it is difficult to regularly assess their driving capability. It is all about safety.”

While the cost of processing a licence will remain Rwf50,000 for a fresh applicant, renewal has been set at Rwf5,000. For one to renew their licence, they will also be required to provide a medical certificate issued by a registered doctor.

After the order is published, motorists with expired licence will have six months to renew their permits.

Earlier this month, The New Times reported that truck drivers, especially those using the Kigali-Mombasa (Northern Corridor) had complained of highway police arresting them because of expired permits.

The government last year issued a ministerial instruction extending the validity of the expired permits, but the drivers say the instruction that they had attached to the permits was not being allowed, mainly in Kenya.

Motorists welcome decision

Jackie Kabagema, a businesswoman who plans to apply for a driving licence, said: "It’s a good idea. It is good for people not to pay Rwf100,000 in 10 years. But it is also important that people’s lives be taken into account; one cannot issue life-time licences.”

Jean Omar Masudi, a resident of Kimironko, Kigali, said requiring medical certificate was a good call on the side of the policymakers.

Meanwhile, Minister Nzahabwanimana also issued a draft order that determines the model of the national driving licence, which sets out a driving licence’s measurements, material, as well as features that appear on it.

For anyone to acquire category A or B driving licence, they must be aged 18 and above, while for other higher categories, drivers must be at least 20, according to Traffic and Road Safety Department spokesperson Emmanuel Kabanda.

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