The search is on for driving licence card printers nationwide as government switches its reliance from the only breakdown-prone machine in South Africa.
The tender advertised for new printers closes today, said the department of transport. The bidding process is the second attempt after government failed to secure service providers last year. The bid was advertised on November 11 and closed on December 14. It was a non-award, meaning no bidder was successful.
“What we are closing tomorrow [Friday] is the second run of the tender advert,” said Collen Msibi, transport department spokesperson.
Last month the department’s 25-year-old machine broke down for the second time. The latest breakdown came days after routine maintenance was done on the printer. It means the printing of licences has ground to a halt for at least three weeks.
This has sparked outrage from motorists. The printer produces thousands of licences a day, estimated to amount to 191,000 every month.
“The machine has always delivered the cards. We must bear in mind that due to security concerns and the sensitivity of the driver’s licence production process we couldn’t decentralise card production because it would be prone to corrupt and criminal elements.
“ Similar to the printing of money, once you decentralise such a function you are opening a back door for criminal elements,” said Msibi.
Yesterday the department said the process to acquire new machines across provinces was underway.
“The new driver’s licence machines will have biometrics data, holograms and watermarks, among other things, to ensure they are secure and cannot be counterfeited.”
Msibi said the department planned to roll out the project in the 2023/2024 financial year.
“The new system will be highly controlled and we will have a back-up system.” said Msibi.
He said the purchase of the machines was approved by cabinet in August after the current machine t broke and caused production delays, with about 400,000 cards not processed in Gauteng alone for weeks.
At the time then transport minister Fikile Mbalula said the system would be linked to the department of home affairs to streamline the identification of drivers.
Yesterday Msibi said linking the driver’s licence system to home affairs was being considered for the future.
The new machines would be piloted for three months later this year.
Wayne Duvenage, CEO for the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse believes the machine should have been replaced several years ago. He said the constant breakdowns did not “make sense”.
“The inefficiency of government is very frustrating for the citizens [who] will be driving around without licences again. It gives traffic officers an opportunity to make life difficult for people,” he said.
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