Pretoria – South Africa’s printing machine for driving licences has broken down again, and will be back in service in about three weeks, according to the Department of Transport.
Spokesperson for the national Department of Transport Collen Msibi said the machine broke down after undergoing routine maintenance last month.
“The routine maintenance started on 5 April, 2023 to 19 April, 2023. Thereafter the technical team encountered a technical breakdown which requires a replacement of a critical part from the original equipment manufacturer (OEM),” Msibi said.
“It is anticipated that the resumption of card production shall commence within the next 2 to 3 weeks.”
However, Msibi said the Department of Transport encourages citizens to continue applying for driving licences.
“The Department of Transport has today reassured members of the public that the production of driving licence cards will not be affected by the routine maintenance of the card production machine,” Msibi said.
“The department has therefore encouraged members of the public to continue applying for their driving licence card as normal.”
In October, the then Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula said South Africa’s last functioning printing machine for driving licences was back in service, and the race was on to clear the backlog.
In a tweet, Mbalula said the machine’s latest hiccups were linked to power outages.
“Driver’s Licence Machine Update. The machine is up and running on the 24/h shifts cycle. We planned to meet the demand and kill the backlog. The machine had challenges due to power outages,” Mbalula said at the time.
In January last year, Mbalula said the “old and outdated” machine had broken down and was undergoing repairs in Germany.
The machine’s absence from service caused a major backlog for driving licences.
IOL