Bad news for South Africa’s new driving licence cards

The Department of Transport has gone silent on the launch of its pilot of a new driving licence card in South Africa, which was scheduled to start on 1 November 2023.
Many motorists eagerly await the introduction of the new licence card after repeated breakdowns of the sole two-decade-old machine used to print the current cards.
The Driver’s Licence Card Account (DLCA) division’s machine has broken down multiple times in the past few years — resulting in substantial backlogs in card renewals and creating stress for drivers.
These cards have been in use since 1998 but are set to be gradually phased out from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2028.
They are being replaced with new smart cards aligned with the International Information Technology Personal Identification Compliant Driving Licence (ISO18013) standard.
The Cabinet-approved smart card will be better protected against counterfeiting and modification, can store more data, and can be used for authentication through additional systems.
It will pack a host of new security features, including biometrics, holograms, and watermarks, while the DLCA previously said it might also incorporate blockchain technology.
Due to meeting the ISO18013 standard, it will be suitable for use in several countries outside South Africa.
The department has also published the basic design of the new cards, which is shown in the images below.

New driving licence card design

Rear of new driving licence card design
In September 2022, transport minister at the time, Fikile Mbalula, said testing of the new card was planned to run from 1 November 2023 to 31 March 2024.
The old printer and cards were also supposed to be decommissioned by the end of this period.
In addition to the card’s improved “smart” and security features, the department has tabled a proposal with Cabinet that its validity period be extended from five to eight years.
This came after backlash from the public and pressure from organisations like the AA, Afriforum, and Outa to extend the period between renewals.
President Cyril Ramaphosa replaced Mbalula with his previous deputy, Sindisiwe Chikunga, after the former was elected as ANC Secretary-General in December 2022.

Fikile Mbalula, former minister of transport
The department has not provided further updates on the launch of the pilot or the procurement of a new machine to print the new cards in several months.
The last tender advertising for the new printing machine closed on 5 May 2023.
That came after a previous tender was advertised between 11 November and 14 December 2022 but did not draw any successful bids.
The department has failed to update the public about whether it had appointed a successful bidder to provide the machine after the latest tender.
In its 2022/2023 annual report, the DLCA said that the project to upgrade the technology and production process of new driving licence cards was “underway”.
“The tender for the procurement of the new production machine is in progress,” said the DLCA. The contents of the report are only valid up to August 2023.
In that report, the DLCA also detailed a new “smart” enrolment system that will enable largely self-service renewals.
The DLCA also revealed that the costs associated with catching up the backlog in renewals was R6 million over budget.
MyBroadband asked the department’s spokespeople for comment on whether the pilot would continue as planned or whether it had been delayed.
The department acknowledged our questions but did not provide feedback by the time of publication.
If the pilot has indeed been delayed, it would likely push back the full rollout of the new cards too.