Some Road Testing Inspectorate centres in Gauteng (Pretoria to be exact) have introduced an electronic booking system for Drivers Licence renewal bookings.

This allows users to book in advance for their Drivers Licence renewals at the Akasia, Waltloo, Centurion, and Bronkhorstspruit RTI licensing centres.

The service is provided by The Online Company South Africa. You can book on their website here.

The service is free of charge if you collect the licence yourself, however, there is a charge if you want your card delivered to you. According to MyBroadband, the fees for delivery depend on your area.

Fees for delivery are R96.45 within the majority of Gauteng, and R141.41 if you need delivery to Hartbeespoort Dam, Brits, Vereeniging, and Vanderbijlpark. Delivery to Rustenburg is R204.34.

A relative of mine recently used this service to renew her Drivers Licence at the Waltloo RTI and here is her experience of the service.

“Wow, that was painless! I was there in total for half an hour. Could have been shorter, because there was a lady who did not have her things in order (documents / eye test?) who kept on coming back.

There were only six chairs set out in front of the room’s door. I was number 7. Other than that it went really quickly.

When you get to the consultant, you hand them your ID, copy of your ID and the eye test (which I did for free at SpecSavers).

He types on his computer, asks me to move back so that he could take a picture of me with his camera, then he scans your left thumb print, then the right one, prints out a document and asks you to pay at the cashier!

That’s it, you don’t even have to fill out a form

At the cashier you hand over your R228 (cash only, no card facilities), photos and ID document. (I paid R300 on the dot, handed over ID and copy of ID for a temp licence).

I have to fetch my new licence in 4 – 7 weeks.”

Thanks for the awesome feedback, Charmaine!

With governmental fuel levies increasing by 52c per litre on 4 April, everyone can do with a bit of saving on petrol costs. This means we will be paying taxes of R3.62 per litre of petrol. This is in addition to last year’s hike of 30c per litre.

Here’s how you can get some rewards and earn loyalty kickbacks on your fuel purchases.

BP

Avios Card

BP has partnered with the Avios Travel Rewards Programme. This means you need an Avios card to claim Avois points.

How Do You Sign Up For An Avois card?

• Ask a petrol attendant at BP.
• Activate your card online here.
• For every 2 litres you spend you will earn 1 Avios point.

Discovery Credit Card

• With this card you can earn 1 Discovery Mile for every R15 that you spend at BP.
• It is linked to your Vitality status so you can earn up to 10X the points based on how high your Vitality status is.

Shell

Clicks Clubcard points

• For every 1 litre you fill up at Shell, you will earn 1 Clicks point. Not all the Shell service stations are on board so check the list of participating sites here to make sure.

Engen

Edgars Thank U Card

• Customers will receive 150 Thank U points for every litre of fuel purchased.

Caltex

Standard Bank uCount Rewards Card

• This one makes the most sense if you are an existing Standard Bank customer.
• Sign up to the uCount Rewards programme for R20 a month.
• Use your Standard Bank Credit, Cheque or Debit account card to earn uCount rewards on fuel purchases.
• You receive a uCount Rewards card that is a debit card. The rewards earned is cash that you can only spend at Caltex and other rewards partners.

The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) urges everyone to visit their registered voting station. Everyone should check or update their existing details well in advance of the 2019 general elections.

Voters should take a copy of their barcoded ID book, smart card ID or temporary ID certificate along with them

The update process takes place on 10 and 11 March 2018. They have launched this as part of a national campaign to prepare the voters’ roll.

There are 22 612 voting stations around the country that will be open between 8am and 5pm. New voters over 18 years of age should register. They will also handle existing voters who have moved to a new area to re-register in their new voting district. Some registered voters might also have incomplete or incorrect information on the roll and can update this as well.

Chief electoral officer, Sy Mamabolo, urges all voters to to visit their local voting station during this upcoming weekend.

“The voters’ roll is the bedrock of electoral integrity. Its quality is the foundation for credible, free and fair elections. This includes making sure all eligible voters are registered in the correct segment of the voters’ roll. The requisite quality of the voters’ roll depends on the support and participation of voters and all stakeholders.”

At the voting station voters will be assisted to complete a registration form providing their home address so that the IEC can places them in the correct voting district. Proof of residence is not required to update your address.

How Do You Find Out If You Are Registered?

1. Registered voters can SMS their ID number to 32810 to receive an SMS containing the address of their voting station (charged at R1).
2. There is also a call centre. Voters can phone 0800 11 8000 on Monday to Friday during office hours. They will assist voters to find their correct voting station and to answer any queries.