South Africa’s only driver’s licence card printing machine finally repaired
The aging machine has suffered approximately 160 breakdowns over its lifespan.
FILE: Twitter/Fikile Mbalula
CapeTalk's John Maytham interviews Advocate Stefanie Fick, Executive Director of the Accountability and Public Governance Division at the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA).
Listen below:
South Africa’s only driver’s licence card printing machine, in service for 26 years, has been repaired after being out of operation since 5 February 2025.
The aging machine has suffered approximately 160 breakdowns over its lifespan, causing frequent and significant delays in card production.
RELATED: Only licence card printing machine in SA still out of order
The most recent downtime has resulted in a substantial backlog of nearly 748,000 unprocessed driving licence cards nationwide.
The backlog by province is as follows:
- Gauteng: 252,746
- KwaZulu-Natal: 115,020
- Western Cape: 108,402
- Mpumalanga: 66,833
- Limpopo: 61,769
- Eastern Cape: 55,393
- North West: 39,983
- Free State: 33,741
- Northern Cape: 13,862
Fick acknowledges that while this is good news, she believes the current machine is “on its last legs.”
She emphasises the urgent need for new solutions – whether that means investing in updated technology or replacing the card machine entirely – to prevent future breakdowns and reduce unnecessary stress for motorists.
"We all agree that there needs to be a new solution."
- Advocate Stefanie Fick, OUTA
Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the interview.