The SA Drivers License Machine Is Back Online After Two Months

The South African Department of Transportation reports it is back in business with the production of driver’s license cards after fixing the only card printing machine in the Zulu kingdom. The Department of Transportation is keen on the resumption of printing driver’s licenses in massive quantities to recover the time lost on fixing the card printing machine for two months.

The chief consent of the SA Department of Transportation report is focused on the double timer set for an altered workforce to produce more printed cards than the department has previously done. The SA Department of Transportation spokesman Collen Msibi disclosed the in-house workforce schedule that plans to double card production from 60 000 to 120 000 per week to make up for its absence.

“Machine has printed an average of 2.85 million cards per annum in the past two financial years. Since its commissioning in 1998, it has printed over 60 million driving license cards. Msibi said the department is “currently working on the process to introduce a new driving license card, as approved by the cabinet in August 2022. The new driving license card will be launched before the end of the current financial year.”

The driver’s license card printing machine has reportedly had more than sixty million cards since the SA Department of Transportation commissioned the card printing machine in 1998. However, Msibi stated that the department is keen on making up for being offline and clearing the backlog of 350 000 driving license cards by August.

Recall that the driver’s license card printing machine went offline in April during routine maintenance that discovered that a significant OEM part has to be replaced. This paused the Department of Transportation operations which could have lasted for two weeks but prolonged the repairers consumed two months in fixing the card printing machine.

During the shutdown, the backlog of unprinted licence cards grew to 350,000, leaving many motorists dependent on temporary permits valid for up to three months.

After a two-week testing phase—during which 60,000 cards were produced—the machine will now ramp up to 120,000 cards per week, with the department targeting clearance of the entire backlog by end of August 2023 .

Simultaneously, the department is preparing to deploy a new “smart” licence-card system, approved by Cabinet in August 2022, which will introduce multiple modern printers and security-enhanced cards—slashing production turnaround from 26 days to around 10 days and greatly reducing future disruption risk.

The driver’s license card printer is back online after consenting that the Germans manufacturer restored the OEM part to completely maintain the machine. Msibi said it will also “bring with it new card-production machines to replace the current machine. This signals the new dawn in the driving license card environment,” TechBooky writes.