The Transport Department is racing against time to wipe out backlogs totalling more than 700,000 outstanding driving licence cards to be printed after its printing machine broke down in February, when its electronic cards were damaged.
Responding to sets of parliamentary questions from parliamentarians from Rise Mzansi, EFF and MK Party, Transport Minister Barbara Creecy said the driver’s licence card machine has now been fixed and is currently dealing with the backlog of driving licence cards that must be printed.
“As of 15 May 2025, the backlog count is estimated at 733,000 cards,” said Creecy.
The backlog was down from 747,748 outstanding cards recorded on May 2.
The machine has suffered major breakdowns totalling 129 days from 2022/23 to date, with only 38 days recorded in the current financial year alone.
The department incurred R11.9 million in repairs and maintenance costs and sent R4.3 million in overtime payments during the same period.
Creecy said the card production facility has since extended working hours for the staff members in the card production facility to ensure the reduction of the backlog.
“The services of card production have been restored. Already over 200,000 cards have been printed. We hope to clear the backlog within three to four months,” she said in reply to EFF MP Babalwa Mathulelwa dated May 12.
She had previously indicated to EFF MP Lencel Mashidika Komane late in May that the backlog could be resolved in six to seven months.
Creecy explained that the current driving licence printing machine, introduced in 1998, operates on outdated technologies that the Original Equipment Manufacturer no longer supports.
“The current equipment is obsolete, and we are in the process of mitigating the risk of equipment failure with an interim solution,” she said without elaborating.
Last year, Creecy said in parliamentary replies that a service provider had been appointed to assist the department in rolling out the new driving licences.
Three machines were to be procured – two for the primary site and one for a disaster recovery site – at a cost of R334 million each.
She had stated that the tender has been finalised and a service provider appointed to deliver a turnkey solution for the personalisation of smart card driving licences after advertising of the tender, both local and international had an equal opportunity to bid.
But the announcement of the new service provider never went ahead after the Auditor-General found non-compliance with procurement processes, a move that prompted Creecy to seek a court order to block the awarding of the contract.
Asked long-term measures to ensure the critical national service related to the printing of driver’s licences was never compromised, Creecy said the department intended to acquire a new machine.
“However, as a result of procurement irregularities noted by the Auditor-General, the minister directed that a declaratory order on the tender be sought to ensure that no further possible irregular expenditure occurs,” she said in a reply to Komane.
She gave a similar response when asked by Rise Mzansi MP Songezo Zibi about the progress made to acquire a new driving licence card printing machine.
“The minister has directed that a declaratory order be sought from a competent court on the tender to acquire a new machine, to ensure that no further irregular expenditure occurs.”
Creecy has previously defended approaching the court for a declaratory order for the tender to be declared irregular and non-compliant instead of opening a criminal case.
“The department could not ignore the findings of the Auditor-General (AGSA), and in the circumstances, it was prudent to approach a competent court to determine whether those findings are to be ignored or have the tender declared null and void to avoid irregular expenditure, hence the declaratory order. The findings of the AGSA did not point to any element of criminality against those involved in the tender process,” she told MK Party’s Lucky Montana in March.
