{"id":98471,"date":"2025-06-18T12:19:47","date_gmt":"2025-06-18T10:19:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/?p=98471"},"modified":"2025-06-18T12:19:47","modified_gmt":"2025-06-18T10:19:47","slug":"sas-only-licence-printing-machine-crisis-spurs-outas-urgent-call-for-reform","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/sas-only-licence-printing-machine-crisis-spurs-outas-urgent-call-for-reform\/","title":{"rendered":"SA\u2019s Only Licence Printing Machine Crisis Spurs OUTA\u2019s Urgent Call for Reform"},"content":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za<\/a>
\n3-minute read<\/em>
\n17 June 2025<\/p>\n

\"\"

\ud83d\udcf7 South Africa\u2019s only licence card machine\u2014old, overworked, and unreliable\u2014leaves 700,000 motorists in limbo.<\/p><\/div>\n

Motorists across South Africa are once again bearing the brunt of a broken licensing system, as the country\u2019s only driver\u2019s license card printing machine has failed yet again, resulting in a mounting backlog of nearly 700,000<\/em> unprinted cards. The Department of Transport is scrambling, while civil society group OUTA<\/em> is calling for urgent and long-overdue reform.<\/p>\n

Advocate Stephanie Fick from OUTA told Radio Islam International<\/em> <\/a>the machine, which dates back to 1998<\/em>, is \u201cgeriatric\u201d and unreliable. \u201cAlthough the machine has been temporarily fixed, it\u2019s just a matter of time before it breaks down again. And in the meantime, the backlog continues to grow,\u201d said Fick.<\/p>\n

As thousands wait in frustration, OUTA is urging newly appointed Transport Minister Barbara Creecy<\/em> to introduce an emergency moratorium on fines and temporary licence requirements for those caught in the crisis. \u201cIf you’ve applied to renew your driver\u2019s licence but haven\u2019t received the card due to no fault of your own, you shouldn\u2019t be penalised,\u201d Fick asserted.<\/p>\n

During COVID-19, a similar moratorium was introduced. OUTA is now calling for the same, noting that requiring motorists to pay for temporary licences adds unnecessary financial strain. \u201cThis should not be a money-making scheme,\u201d said Fick. \u201cPeople are law-abiding citizens trying to do the right thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beyond temporary relief, OUTA is pushing for more permanent reform. They\u2019ve written to the minister advocating for the validity of licence cards to be extended from five to ten years<\/em>, aligning with global standards. \u201cThis isn\u2019t just about a machine. It\u2019s about fixing a broken system,\u201d said Fick.<\/p>\n

OUTA\u2019s investigations have also revealed rampant corruption at licensing stations, including bribery for appointments and even fake licenses being issued without any testing. \u201cIt\u2019s terrifying,\u201d Fick said. \u201cPeople are sharing the road with unqualified drivers.\u201d<\/p>\n

The organisation also raised red flags about inconsistent roadworthy checks across provinces. \u201cIn Gauteng, some taxis skip annual roadworthy tests by registering in Mpumalanga or Limpopo, where standards are laxer,\u201d Fick explained.<\/p>\n

With no clear timeline for procuring a new machine, OUTA warns of an impending repeat crisis. \u201cAll we\u2019re asking for is transparency and immediate action,\u201d Fick concluded.<\/p>\n

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

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za 3-minute read 17 June 2025 Motorists across South Africa are once again bearing the brunt of a broken licensing system, as the country\u2019s only driver\u2019s license card printing machine has failed yet again, resulting in a mounting backlog of nearly 700,000 unprinted cards. The Department of Transport is scrambling, while civil […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":98472,"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-98471","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\/Drivers-licence-card-printer_5-.png?fit=2423%2C1384&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0QIf-pCf","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-15 12:46:01","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\/98471","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=98471"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98471\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/98472"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98471"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98471"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98471"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}