South Africa’s driving licence card printer disaster

South African motorists have waited several years for the introduction of a new driving licence card scheme and a replacement for the country’s only printing machine, which is over 25 years old.

Former transport minister Fikile Mbablula, who served from May 2019 to March 2023, had promised to procure a new machine to produce new driving licence cards, which could have a validity period of eight years.

Citing research carried out by the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) in 2022, Mbalula said an extension to eight years was viable and would be presented to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s cabinet.

However, Sindisiwe Chikunga, who replaced Mbalula in March 2023, recently revealed that this was no longer under consideration by the government and that the period would remain five years.

She also revealed that the department had yet to adjudicate the tender for procuring a new machine. Instead, it had only shortlisted five bidders.

This came despite Chikunga, earlier in 2024, saying the department would start printing new cards at the end of April.

Outraged by the lack of transparency regarding the reasoning behind the decision not to extend the period and regarding the procurement process for a new machine, the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) demanded answers.

It also demanded to see the report on the RTMC’s research, which was eventually provided in August 2024. Zutari compiled the report on behalf of the RTMC.

It revealed that South Africa’s driving licence printer — the only printer in the country — is old and should have been replaced roughly 15 years ago.

“The machine currently used to produce the cards has been in service since 1998 — which makes it about 26 years old — and should have been replaced in about 2009,” it says.

The machine’s age makes it prone to breakdowns, causing significant production backlogs as it is the only one in the country.

Moreover, the skills needed to repair the machine aren’t always available in South Africa, requiring it to be shipped to Germany for repairs, further delaying its return to service.

One such breakdown occurred in January 2022, causing a massive backlog in the production of driving licence cards. It was sent overseas to be repaired.

“The machine is being fixed in Germany. We have been affected by the festive season in Germany,” said Mbalula.

“It probably will take about a month or so, and the machine should be back.”

The RTMC’s report also highlighted that South Africans must have an eye test every five years to verify their visual fitness as part of the renewal process.

“This seems to be the primary argument for driving licence card validity period, to assess driver fitness,” says the report.

However, it adds that it found little mention of eye tests when researching 40 other nations’ approaches to driving licence card renewals.

RTMC CEO Makhosini Msibi recently said the decision not to extend the validity period was based on the requirement for regular eye tests, which he said are critical because many accidents relate to “communicable and other diseases.”

While Outa described the reasoning as “ludicrous”, the report from 2022 notes that other nations require medical certificates to prove fitness to drive, which may include testing the eyes.

“Routine eye testing during a person’s lifetime is recommended, yet almost three-quarters of South Africans sampled were not utilising eye care services,” says the report.

However, it makes no mention of communicable or other diseases.

According to the RTMC, this reason came from a second round of research, which it refused to provide to Outa.

“The RTMC told Outa it would not hand over this second research report, but the same day the Department of Transport informed Outa that no such report exists,” the civil action organisation said.

Outa’s executive director, Stefanie Fick, said the organisation now questions the RTMC’s motives regarding the new cards and a new printing machine. She accused the RTMC of misleading the public.

“It is clear that the RTMC is deliberately misleading the public on its so-called reason not to extend the driving licence card validity period,” said Fick.

“The ultimate decision to extend the validity period lies with the Minister of Transport, who in turn should not be influenced by an entity with vested financial interests in the decision.”