South Africa’s only driver’s licence card printing machine finally repaired

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.