Image Source: The South African
Local – The National Department of Transport has confirmed that the country’s sole driving licence card printing machine is back in operation after nearly three months of downtime.
The machine, which broke down on 5 February 2025, caused a massive backlog of almost 750,000 outstanding cards across the country.
National transport spokesperson Collen Msibi acknowledged the scale of the challenge, describing it as a huge task that requires urgent action.
To speed things up, the Driving Licence Card Agency, an entity of the department, has extended staff working hours in a bid to fast-track production.
“Currently, when you do an eight-hour shift, you can only produce about 7,000 cards. So it simply just means that we’re going to have to increase the hours in terms of printing, probably just do a 24-hour shift, which would ramp it up to about 14,000 to 19,000 cards to be printed,” Msibi explained.
The backlog has affected motorists nationwide, with Gauteng carrying the most significant share at over 252,000 unprinted cards. KwaZulu-Natal follows with around 115,000, while the Western Cape is sitting at just over 108,000.
Other provinces are also grappling with significant numbers: Mpumalanga has more than 66,000 outstanding cards, Limpopo nearly 62,000, the Eastern Cape 55,000, North West just under 40,000, the Free State close to 34,000, and the Northern Cape around 14,000.
A catch-up plan is now in place, and the department has promised to share updates as progress is made. However, Msibi cautioned that reducing the backlog will also depend on the number of new orders daily, which could slow things down.
Meanwhile, the Western Cape Government welcomed the machine’s return, calling it “much-needed relief” for motorists who have been waiting patiently.
“We are hopeful that this marks the start of real progress,” the provincial government said, adding that it trusts the national department will work swiftly and efficiently to clear the backlog without further complications.
