Dylan Bettencourt
South Africa has only one driver’s licence printing machine – and for the second time this year it has broken down.
Eastern Cape acting chief director for transport regulations Xolisa Jakula said efforts were being made to repair the machine by the end of the week.
“The machine is reported to have not been working for two weeks now. There is an indication that processes are underway to ensure that by the end of this week it will be operational,” Jakula told MyBroadband.
“We are expecting a further update on Wednesday.”
Last November the machine suffered a similar fate and it took until January this year before it was fully operational.
The machine was said to have been sent to Germany for repairs over the festive season but later reports in February claimed it never left the country.
Therefore the goal of getting the machine back in order by the end of the week seems an unrealistic target.
At the time transport minister Fikile Mbalula claimed the machine was so outdated that it was the only one of its kind still operating anywhere in the world.
The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) said the Department of Transport had enough revenue to buy a new machine, claiming the department made R400 million from renewals in the last nine years.
The November breakdown resulted in around 383,000 driver’s licences being stuck in a backlog.
The breakdown came as the driver’s licence system was already backlogged due to Covid-19 delays.
Mbalula, after the repairs, promised South Africa would be getting a new printing machine for new driver’s licence cards.
That plan has been approved by the cabinet and is expected to roll out in November.
“This will then enable us to commence with the procurement process for the new production infrastructure in October 2022. The new card will be piloted from 1 November 2023 until 31 March 2024,” Mbalula said.
Pictured above: Fikile Mbalula
Image source: @eNCA
