Gauteng's new number plates have finally been unveiled
Gauteng's new number plates re designed to be tamper proof.
Image: Supplied
Following numerous delays, Gauteng’s new high-tech number plate system has been unveiled, with the government vehicle pilot process having officially commenced.
The new number plates, which were presented by the Gauteng Provincial Government on Thursday, were created with the aim of reducing crime by deterring the use of counterfeit or cloned plates.
To that end, the plates are embedded with QR codes, and have track and trace features for easy vehicle identification and registration.
They also feature a tamper-evident security decal, designed to expose counterfeiting measures.
The new plates have QR codes.
Image: Supplied
Other details, on the far left-hand side of the plates, are an image of the national flag, country name and United Nations (UN) country code.
“85% of all the crimes that are committed in Gauteng, a motor vehicle is involved, either as the getaway or that car itself is stolen, or the registration of that car is faulty,” Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi said at Thursday’s presentation in the province.
“If we have to fight crime, we have to overhaul the car registration regime.”
The Premier said the rollout of a new system came at an opportune time as the province was running out of number and letter sequences with the current number plates.
However, motorists won’t be forced to upgrade to the new plates just yet.
The province’s g-Fleet Management vehicles will first pilot the new number plates for six months, before the actual provincial rollout takes place.
“By introducing tamper-proof plates embedded with QR codes and self-destructing decals, the new GP number plate system aims to deter the use of counterfeit or cloned plates, which are often employed in criminal activities,” the Gauteng Provincial Government said in a statement.
The new system has been subject to a number of delays.
It was first announced in 2023, with the initial rollout intended for April 2024.
However, Premier Lesufi then backtracked on that plan in his State-of-the-Province address in February 2024, stating that it would only be piloted on government vehicles from that initial date. Yet that project has been delayed until June 2025.
During earlier communications, the provincial government said that once the public roll-out commenced, all motorists would be required to re-register and obtain the new number plates by the time of their next licence disc renewal.
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