Motoring10.10.2024

New driving licence card price secret

South Africa should soon be getting new driving licence cards, with the Department of Transport (DoT) recently revealing the R1-billion price tag for the country’s new printing machines.

However, it remains unclear whether the new driving licence cards will be cheaper or more expensive than the current cards in issue.

MyBroadband asked the department about the fee structure, but it didn’t answer our questions by publication.

South Africa’s current driving licence renewal fees vary based on where you submit your application.

A MyBroadband staff member recently renewed theirs at the Driving Licence Testing Centre in Eco Park, Centurion, and paid R228 for the card renewal and R72 for a temporary licence.

South Africa’s plans for new driving licence cards have been in the works for over two years, with President Cyril Ramaphosa’s cabinet approving the plan in September 2022.

As announced by former transport minister Fikile Mbalula, the pilot launch deadline was initially November 2023. However, the plan has faced several delays.

For South Africa to launch a new driving licence card, it must replace its ageing printing machine, which has been in and out of service over the past few years due to breakdowns.

This is because the new cards have been designed to include many new features, including improved security, quality, durability, and production turnaround times.

The DoT finally announced on 2 September 2024 that it had appointed Idemia Identity and Security South Africa as a preferred bidder to procure the country’s new driving licence card printing machines.

Transport minister Barbara Creecy later revealed that her department would procure three new printing machines — two for the primary production site and one for the backup site — at a cost of R334 million each.

The price includes the machine’s required software.

Department of Transport spokesperson Collen Msibi says the new machines and card designs will slash production times, with an expected turnaround of four days from application to collection.

He noted that the current machine has printed more than 60 million cards since 1998 and has cost more than R21 million to maintain and repair over the past five years.

“With the new system, we’re hoping the turnaround time for people receiving their cards will be cut very short,” said Msibi.

“This is the modernisation of the driving licence system. The new card will have more security features, which will make it quite difficult for anyone to have a counterfeit card.”

“We are looking at about four days, and you will be having your card. It’s one of the issues that we’ve been looking at,” he added.

New driving licence card design

Concerns over Idemia contract

Executive director for accountability at the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa), Stefanie Fick, recently raised concerns over the DoT’s awarding of the contract to Idemia.

She said Outa had received documents from whistleblowers showing that the cost of the machines is significantly higher than initially proposed.

“If you look at the documents that we receive through whistleblowers, firstly the price is way more than what was initially suggested,” said Fick.

“There are, in fact, two documents from the Bid Evaluation Committee. Both have the same date but two different numbers.”

“The numbers didn’t go down. The numbers went up. It was initially around R400 million. We are now talking double that: around R800 million, close to R900 million,” she added.

However, she noted that these are merely allegations and must be investigated.

Fick said Outa believes there is something untoward about the tender process for the printing machines and wants the government to ensure the deal is legitimate before committing the funds.

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