The new driving licence cards are set to be rolled out at any moment as printing is expected to start by the end of April.
On 10 April, Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga announced that her department was at the ‘tail-end’ of procuring a new licence card-printing machine.
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‘We are at the tail-end of the procurement process because the team that is busy with that had to travel to France to see the machine for themselves,’ she said during a media briefing for the scrapping of e-tolls in Gauteng.
‘Before the end of this month, we will be printing new driving licences (cards) and will launch at least the first 100 per province, as we have said. We are moving in that regard.’
As reported by BusinessTech, the new driving licences were due to launch by the end of March 2024. However, in January, Chikunga stated that the Department of Transport (DOT) did not award a tender for the new printer. It had planned to finalise the process this month.
The new printer will be able to produce a card within five working days, which is nine days faster than the current machine.
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The DLCA stated that the new licence will align more closely with international practices, incorporating new technologies such as biometric data, holograms and watermarks to reduce fraudulent licences and improve road safety.
Much like the current licences, the front of the card will display the driver’s name, gender, date of birth and ID number, as well as information about the licence, including the issuance date, code, licence number and validity period.
According to tender documents published in November 2021, the card will be made of 100% polycarbonate material with security elements.
A secondary image of the cardholder will be engraved during the ‘personalisation process’, and micro text and tactile features will also be included.
The image of the licence holder will be covered with a security background, and the card’s serial number will be printed in barcode format on the reverse side, alongside a QR code and a ghost image.
In addition, the licence will be valid for eight years compared to the current validity period of five.
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