South African drivers are facing fresh frustration as the backlog of driving licence cards balloons to over 539,000, with motorists now waiting up to two months to get their cards. For truck drivers who depend on their licences to keep working, this delay is turning into a serious headache.
The Department of Transport admits the problem lies with the country’s 26-year-old licence card printing machine, which has broken down more than 160 times in its lifetime.
Just this year alone, 38 production days were lost to breakdowns, despite the department pouring R12 million into repairs and another R4.4 million in overtime to keep staff running the machine 24/7.
Even with the extra hours, output has not caught up with demand. The system can produce around 22,000 cards a day at full tilt, but South Africans submit between 10,500 and 11,000 new orders daily. The maths means the backlog is only shrinking at a snail’s pace, and any further breakdown could push waiting times well into 2026.
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Drivers who once collected their new cards within two weeks are now waiting eight to nine weeks.
In response, the Department has waived fees for temporary licences and suspended penalties for expired cards, but many motorists say it’s still not good enough. For long-distance truckers, expired cards create extra stress at roadblocks and border posts, where temporary permits are often treated with suspicion.
A long-term fix – new machines and a modernised licence system – is stuck in limbo after the R900 million procurement process was pulled into a court battle over irregularities. Until that is resolved, drivers remain at the mercy of an ageing machine that could grind to a halt at any moment.
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