The Department of Transport (DoT) said that South Africa’s new driving licence cards will take four days to make and return to motorists, as well as featuring a backup system in case of ‘machine breakdowns’, Cape {town} Etc reports.
Collen Msibi, DoT spokesperson, explained that the current system and machine aren’t utilised ‘anywhere else in the world’, which makes it difficult to find replacement parts, in an interview with Newzroom Africa.
Furthermore, the current system and machine have also suffered ‘several breakdowns in recent years’, resulting in significant delays to renewal applications.
Also read: South African driving licence set to get digital upgrade
‘We’ve had to ask the cabinet of the sixth administration to have these new cards, mainly because the technology we’ve been using to print the old cars is very old,’ said Msibi.
‘If you’d recall, there’s been a lot of breakdowns with the machine that we’ve been using […] The old machine has printed over 60 million cards since 1998. With the new system, we’re hoping the turnaround time for people receiving their cards will be cut very short,’ Msibi added.
Msibi stated that the new card will have improved security features as well as shorter production times, as reported by MyBroadband.
‘This is the modernisation of the driving licence system. The new card will have more security features, which will make it quite difficult for anyone to have a counterfeit card,’ said Msibi.
‘We are looking at about four days, and you will be having your card. It’s one of the issues that we’ve been looking at,’ Msibi added.
While the DoT will have a ‘proper backup system’ in place for incidents when the system goes offline, it won’t have a driving licence printing machine ‘in each province’.
‘There’s this notion that each and every province will have its own machine. It’s not going to be like that. Why? Because of the issue of corruption and security,’ said Msibi.
‘The difference this time around is there’s going to be a proper backup system in case there are breakdowns or maintenance of the system,’ Msibi added.
Cape {town} Etc discount: Looking for things to do in the city, at half the price? Get exclusive offers here.
Msibi said motorists are still required to visit Driving Licence Testing Centres when applying for and renewing their driving licence cards.
In terms of a fully digital system, Msibi stated that they are ‘not quite there yet’.
‘I think we have to wait a bit,’ said Msibi.
Msibi also emphasised that the validity period of driving licence cards will remain five years, but he suggested that things ‘could change’ with the new administration.
‘There’s a transition which has happened. We have got a Government of National Unit (GNU) which must make its own decisions,’ said Msibi.
‘We await with bated breath what the next decision of the GNU will be on the matter, but I can tell you at this point, we are still at five years,’ Msibi added.
Explore Cape Town and its surroundings with these incredible deals on cars for under R100 000. Find car listings here.
South Africans have been waiting for an announcement about the procurement of a new driving licence printing machine, as the DoT has been oscillating on a launch date.
Former Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga said the tender process for a new machine almost concluded in April 2024 and that it would start printing at the end of the month.
It was revealed in June, however, that the DoT had only then shortlisted five bidders and had yet to declare the tender.
On Monday, 2 September, the DoT announced that it had appointed a ‘preferred bidder’ for the contract.
The DoT selected Idemia Identity and Security South Africa to produce new driving licence cards for the country’s motorists.
Idemia will first enter a service-level agreement with the DoT before the relevant infrastructure and systems are established.
It added that it would ‘make more information regarding timeframes’ available to the public when the service agreement has been signed.
Also read:
Over 400 fake documents found at Cape Town driving licence centres
Picture: Jacques Stander / Gallo Images
