‘The power cuts had an impact’: Mbalula says SA's only driver’s licence card machine is back online

South Africa’s only driver’s licence card printing machine has been fixed after reportedly being out of service for two weeks.

On Wednesday transport minister Fikile Mbalula announced the machine was rolling again after South Africans expressed their frustrations online about the delay to renew driver’s licences. 

The machine broke down for the second time in less than a year. 

“The machine is up and running on the 24-hour shift cycle. We planned to meet the demand and kill the backlog. The machine had challenges due to power outages. The recent power cuts had an impact on it,” said Mbalula. 

Asked if there were strategies to keep the machine up and running during load-shedding, Mbalula said the transport department has backup uninterrupted power supply systems that kick in during power cuts.

“There are backup uninterrupted power supply systems that kick in when there are power cuts. The interruption occurred due to the backup system power surge which has been addressed,” he assured citizens.

Earlier this year, Mbalula announced a new-generation “smart” driver’s licence card will be rolled out from October 2023. 

He said the current card was to be phased out over five years. 

This was after the issuing backlog was worsened by the printing machine breaking down. It was sent to Germany for repairs. 

Mbalula said the 2.1-million backlog in issuing driving licences would be cleared by September.

“I am pleased to announce cabinet has approved the replacement of the current driving licence card with a new card with more secure design features. It will comply with the international driving licence standard.

“The current card was introduced in 1998 and the production equipment was procured in the same year. The technology has become obsolete,” Mbalula said.

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