The civil rights group criticised delays in government procurement as about 500 000 driver's licence cards remain unprinted.
AfriForum set up a table with a portable printer and a laptop in front of the department of transport in Pretoria yesterday and printed out sample licence cards while waiting for Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy to join their illustration.
The organisation’s spokesperson, Louis Boshoff, said the driving licence backlog can be cleared as he printed out multiple sample cards.
“This is to point out to the department various options are already available locally that meet all the security feature requirements of licence cards in order to eliminate the serious backlog.
“The sample cards are made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), similar to existing ID cards, and feature the face of Creecy,” he said.
Failed tender
Following a tender process for the supply of new licence card printers, the department’s bid evaluation committee last year named a foreign company, Idemia, as the preferred bidder, but the bid fell flat.
“The award of this tender was put on hold after allegations of irregularities in other Idemia contracts came to light,” Boshoff said.
“An investigation has since been launched, and there is now, more than nine months later, still no sign of progress in the procurement of a new licence card printer or printers,” he said.
Local service providers
The delay in clearing the backlog and acquiring new printers was unnecessary, Boshoff said.
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“The department clearly does not have the will to eliminate the problems regarding the printing of licence cards – despite the fact that there are several local service providers available who have the necessary technology.”
There were several possible printer and card types, with different and sufficient security features, that could be considered for SA’s future driver’s licences.
Backlog
“The backlog in printing cards currently stands at approximately 500 000, which means that about half-a-million drivers are without valid licence cards.
“It appears the government prefers to drag out the procurement process at the expense of service delivery and does not even consider workable options in the interest of that,” Boshoff said.
Creecy was a no-show, but her spokesperson, Collen Msibi, said the Driving Licence Card Account (DLCA) has made huge strides in reducing the backlog, having printed 1.3 million licences from 8 May to Monday.
“The backlog is now at 336 000 cards ready for printing,” he said.
Msibi said DLCA was running a 24-hour shift.
A waiting game
Motorist Jaquelene Politis Smith said she waited three months for her licence, but Nade Coetzee had the opposite experience.
“I have to say I had my licence renewed two weeks ago. I was shocked, considering how difficult everything always is with government stuff,” Coetzee said.
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“I was at the new Centurion branch and everything was done in not even 20 minutes. Every counter had someone helping and it’s so organised – and the staff is friendly and helpful.”
Coetzee said she had already received a status update that the card was being processed.
‘Lost paperwork’ and more waiting
Another motorist, Johan Syffert, said when he applied the first time, he waited two months only to hear his paperwork had disappeared.
Syffert then drove 105km to Harding to reapply.
“I have been waiting for six weeks now, but at least I got my temporary licence immediately.”
Bronwyn Pires said she applied for her driver’s licence on 9 July, before it even expired on 31 August, because she knew she would be waiting.
“I am still waiting for my licence. I applied at Midrand and the process was effortless and took less than 30 minutes. However, the wait for my actual licence was over two months,” she said.
When Pires checked online to see the status of her licence, it indicated it was ready to be collected this week.
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