By Bosco Bush<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Interior has been directed to revoke a controversial Order issued by the Director-General of Traffic Police, shortening Driving License validity from five years to one year for nationals and six months for foreigners<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n The decision was reached after a meeting between First Deputy Speaker of the National Legislative Assembly Oyet Nathaniel Peirino officials at the Ministry of Interior.<\/p>\n Those present were Acting Minister and Deputy Minister of Interior Mangar Buom, South Sudan National Police Service Spokesperson John Kassara, and Chair of the Specialized Committee for Security and Public Order Kom Kom, along with his Deputy Samuel Loti.<\/p>\n In a Facebook Post after the meeting, First Deputy Speaker Oyet Nathaniel said the officials resolved that, the Order contravenes best practices of the regional Standard Operation Procedure, and directed the Ministry of Interior to rescind the Order with immediate effect.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have resolved that since the Order contravenes the best practices of the Standard Operation Procedure in situ and the regional practices, the Ministry of Interior has been directed to rescind such Order with immediate effect,\u201d his statement read.<\/p>\n According to Oyet, the meeting also advised the Ministry to work with South Sudan Revenue Authority on any matter affecting the Financial Act 2024\/2025, and further, to table the Draft South Sudan Traffic Police Bill in Parliament as soon as possible.<\/p>\n Last week, the directorate of traffic police issued a directives, shortening the duration of driving licenses from five years to one year for nationals, and from one year to six months for foreign drivers.<\/p>\n This change was outlined in a circular dated January 4, 2025, written by Maj-Gen Kon John Akot, the director of traffic police, and directed to the chief inspector of the driving license department.<\/p>\n \u201cIn regard to the above-mentioned subject, be informed that, the duration for a driver\u2019s license to national (South Sudanese) is reduce from five years to one year while for foreigners is reduced from one year to six (6) months,\u201d partly reads a circular.<\/p>\n The chief license inspector was also instructed by Maj-Gen Akot to send all driver’s license files to national traffic for final approval prior to production.<\/p>\n Sections 31 and 32 of the Traffic Act, 2003, which establishes the legal framework, states that \u201ca driver\u2019s license may be granted for a period of twelve months (1 year), three years, or five years,\u201d subject to renewal.<\/p>\n If implemented, drivers would be expected to spend over three hundred thousand South Sudan pounds or more than two hundred thousand annually for renewals.<\/p>\n Public outcry<\/strong><\/p>\n Following the new Order, many drivers have expressed concerns about the additional expense and inconvenience of yearly renewals, especially given the current economic challenges.<\/p>\n Mr. Emmanuel Junior, a bus driver, voiced worries that the traffic police director should not make unilateral decisions, even in tough economic times.<\/p>\n \u201cHe can\u2019t just decree what he wants. A driving license lasts five years for citizens and one year for foreigners. Reducing it to one year for citizens and six months for foreigners eliminates the distinction,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cHe cannot simply write and enforce an order as he pleases. I believe this order is invalid, and no one can afford to renew their license every year due to the economic crisis. I urge the director of traffic police to reconsider,\u201d Junior added.<\/p>\n He suggested that if the traffic department insists on this directive, drivers should meet with the traffic boss to discuss the issue amicably.<\/p>\n \u201cI advise that he revoke the one-year duration for driver\u2019s licenses and follow standard global practices, which allow for a five-year duration.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr. Joseph Redento, another driver, suggested that such directives should be thoroughly studied and presented to parliament for scrutiny and approval.<\/p>\n \u201cOrders come from the government\u2019s decision-making, but it is crucial that any decision undergoes rigorous analysis and is ultimately presented to parliament. I\u2019d appreciate knowing if this specific decision has been brought to the August House,\u201d he inquired.<\/p>\n He demanded that the order be revoked, expressing disbelief that the traffic department could change vehicle licenses in two days while imposing such a significant reduction in the duration of driver\u2019s licenses.<\/p>\n \u201cWe thought that the country\u2019s economic circumstances were driving price increases, but shortening the duration of driving licenses is not a reasonable solution,\u201d he lamented.<\/p>\n \u201cIn my understanding, a driver\u2019s license can be issued for one year, three years, or five years at different stages\u2014starting with a private license that can be renewed to a general license after three years, extending to five years. I don\u2019t understand the rationale behind this law, and we are requesting an explanation of how they arrived at this decision,\u201d Redento urged.<\/p>\n He also called on the government to alleviate the burden on citizens, stating that, \u201cthe more the government seeks to generate non-oil revenue, the heavier the burden becomes on the citizens. If the government reduces revenue collection, it would make life easier and more accessible for people. They should consider alternatives instead of imposing additional pressures.\u201d<\/p>\n James, another driver, demanded that the directive be rescinded, arguing that it exacerbates the difficulties faced by drivers.<\/p>\n \u201cWe drivers work in extremely difficult conditions, and the majority of us are forced into this line of work because of our children\u2019s education, needs and added that the requirement to renew our driver\u2019s license annually is unbecoming,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Bosco Bush The Ministry of Interior has been directed to revoke a controversial Order issued by the Director-General of Traffic Police, shortening Driving License validity from five years to one year for nationals and six months for foreigners. The decision was reached after a meeting between First Deputy Speaker[Read More…]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":32304,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[80,79],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Officials-pose-for-a-photo-after-the-meeting.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32303","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32303"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32303\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32305,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32303\/revisions\/32305"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32304"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}