The National Institute of Road Transport (INATRO) does not know when it will be able to resume issuing biometric driving licenses and claims that the institution does not have sufficient powers to make decisions on its own regarding the continuity of the license production process.

Said the INATRO spokesman that the institution cannot "impose the deadlines for entities that are higher than ours, and as such, the time that the entities have cannot be set [by us]."

According to Jorge Miambo, the drivers are dependent, in the first instance, on the decisions that will be taken by the competent entities, and in this sense, the drivers will continue to use the provisional licenses. In this way, the national citizens who intend to drive in other countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) will be able to do so without constraints.

The issuance of driver's licenses was suspended for alleged debt from INATRO to Brithol Michcoma, valued at 40 million meticais, for work done between July and November 2021.

Brithol Michcoma had been responsible for issuing biometric driver's licenses in Mozambique since 2019, i.e. for almost three years.

The lack of a visa from the Administrative Court (AT) has delayed payment to Brithol Michcoma Mozambique, hence the impasse over the issuance of biometric driving licenses.

Since the creation of INATRO, there has been no Board of Directors, and the institution is run by a PCA, without executive directors, hence the problem was referred to the Ministry of Transport and Communications, the entity that oversees INATRO.

"The now extinct INATTER had already started the process of obtaining the TA's visa, but it was later extinguished and, in its place, INATRO was created, which has no decision-making power, which is why the payment could not be made, because it would be illegal," said Jorge Miambo.

Source: letter