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No driver’s licence card backlog, says Transport Dept after old printing machine breaks down
At the same time, the tender for a new driver's licence printing machine came to a close on Friday.
A South African ID book and the current driver’s licence. Photo for illustration: Gallo Images/Nicolene Olckers
South Africans hoping to get their new driver’s licence might have to wait longer as the current printing machine remains out of service.
Also, the tender application process for a new machine only closed on Friday.
No backlog
This week, the Department of Transport confirmed that the country last functioning driver’s licence printing machine broke down yet again.
The machine had undergone routine maintenance from 5 to 19 April when a problem was identified, according to the department.
“The technical team encountered a technical breakdown which requires a replacement of a critical part from the original-equipment manufacturer,” the department’s spokesperson Collen Msibi said on Wednesday.
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The machine, which produces an estimated to amount to 300,000 licences per month, is expected to be back in operation within the next two to three weeks.
The department assured motorists that the printing of driving licence cards would not be affected as there was no backlog at the time of the machine breakdown.
“The department has therefore encouraged members of the public to continue applying for their driving licence cards as normal,” Msibi said.
In the past, the breakdown of the machine added to a massive backlog in renewals created by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The card machine was sent to Germany to be fixed in January 2022 after it had broken down as a result of flooding.
New machine
The Driver’s Licence Card Account (DLCA), a trading entity of the Department of Transport that is responsible for producing and delivering driving licence cards in the country, has since already started the process of procuring a new machine.
The bidding process for a new machine came to a close on Friday following several delays.
A revised tender document was published last November, according to the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa).
But the department confirmed to The Citizen that the tender was officially issued on 8 March this year.
“These matters will form part of contractual negotiations with the successful bidder,” Msibi said in response to question on how long it would take to appoint a service provider to handle the procurement of the new machine and deliver the product.
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Msibi also told SowetanLive the department said the process to acquire new machines across provinces was underway.
“The new driver’s licence [machines] will have a biometrics data, hologram and watermarks, among other things, just to ensure that it is secure and cannot be counterfeited,” he said.
He further said the department was planning to roll out the project in the current financial year, which will end on 31 March 2024.
Msibi added the purchase of the machines was approved by Cabinet in August last year.
Smart card
Former Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula previously revealed that a new smart driver’s licence card would be rolled out from October 2023.
The minister indicated the current licence card would be phased out over a five-year period in order to allow the current cards to expire.
The new card will have advanced security features and meet international standards, which means it can also be used as an alternative form of identification.
