{"id":98344,"date":"2025-06-10T18:54:30","date_gmt":"2025-06-10T16:54:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/?p=98344"},"modified":"2025-06-10T18:54:30","modified_gmt":"2025-06-10T16:54:30","slug":"south-africas-only-license-card-printer-breaks-down-again-leaving-over-700000-motorists-in-limbo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/south-africas-only-license-card-printer-breaks-down-again-leaving-over-700000-motorists-in-limbo\/","title":{"rendered":"South Africa\u2019s Only License Card Printer Breaks Down Again, Leaving Over 700,000 Motorists in Limbo"},"content":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za<\/a> <\/em>
\n3-minute read<\/em>
\n10 June 2025 | 09:00 CAT<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"

South Africa\u2019s only driver\u2019s licence card machine has broken down again, adding to a mounting backlog of over 733,000 cards. Calls for accountability and reform grow louder as motorists bear the brunt of government inefficiency.<\/p><\/div>\n

A fresh wave of frustration is sweeping across the country as South Africa\u2019s only driving license card printing machine has once again broken down-triggering a backlog of over 733,000 cards. The Department of Transport has spent R11.5 million on repairs since 2022, with an additional R4.4 million in staff overtime.<\/p>\n

Transport Minister Barbara Creecy has now approached the courts for a declaratory order related to the long-disputed tender for a new machine. This, according to the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA), is too little, too late.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis machine was first used in 1998,\u201d noted Advocate Stephanie Fick, Executive Director of OUTA\u2019s Public Governance Division. \u201cEven the technology is outdated-our licenses don\u2019t meet international standards and can\u2019t be used as proof of identity.\u201d<\/p>\n

In an interview with Radio Islam International<\/a>, Fick expressed outrage over the situation, saying the department should have anticipated the breakdown. \u201cThey should have had motorists\u2019 best interests at heart and thought ahead,\u201d she said. \u201cWhy should law-abiding citizens bear the brunt of poor governance?\u201d<\/p>\n

Motorists are currently forced to pay for temporary licenses, some of which expire before their permanent cards are ready. Fick slammed this as unfair: \u201cThe problem was created by the department. Why should the public pay for its failures?\u201d<\/p>\n

OUTA is now considering a legal challenge to protect motorists. \u201cMaybe it\u2019s time the minister declares that if you\u2019ve applied for renewal, you won\u2019t be penalised-even if your temporary license has expired,\u201d Fick suggested.<\/p>\n

The breakdown doesn\u2019t just inconvenience drivers- it adds pressure to South Africa\u2019s already clogged court system. As Fick pointed out, \u201cThis backlog could lead to hundreds of avoidable traffic cases.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adding to the scandal is the murky history of the machine\u2019s replacement. \u201cThe tender was advertised, withdrawn, then readvertised-each time with new rules and an increased cost,\u201d Fick said. \u201cIf it\u2019s not transparent, you have to ask: is it corruption?\u201d<\/p>\n

With civil society demanding reform, OUTA is pushing for license validity to be extended from five to ten years. \u201cEven the government\u2019s own research suggests eight years is reasonable,\u201d said Fick. \u201cBut if it\u2019s about money, that\u2019s deplorable-government should not profit from citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n

As South Africans wait in bureaucratic limbo, one thing is clear: the system is broken and it\u2019s the public paying the price.<\/p>\n

Listen<\/strong> to the full interview on The Daily Round-Up<\/a> with Annisa Essack and Advocate Stephanie Fick.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za 3-minute read 10 June 2025 | 09:00 CAT A fresh wave of frustration is sweeping across the country as South Africa\u2019s only driving license card printing machine has once again broken down-triggering a backlog of over 733,000 cards. The Department of Transport has spent R11.5 million on repairs since 2022, with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":98345,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[28,4995],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-98344","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","category-south-africa"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Driving-licence-cards-Image-via-%40FikileMbalula-on-X.jpg.optimal.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0QIf-pAc","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-21 00:52:52","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98344","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98344"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98344\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/98345"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98344"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98344"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98344"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}