Where is the solution to the driving licence crisis?

The very old machine used to produce the driving licence cards may be back at work again, but we are still waiting for the Department of Transport’s solution to this critical problem.

“It is a relief to hear that the machine has been repaired, but the question is how soon it will break down again. This old card machine is prone to regular breakdowns and is bound to break down again. It is also seriously lacking in modern security features,” says Advocate Stefanie Fick, OUTA Executive Director.

“The long-term solution, which is a decade overdue, is the finalisation of the new driving licence card solution, either through a tender awarded to a private company or through the Government Printing Works which successfully manages the printing of the ID cards for the Department of Home Affairs.

“We want a new machine procured, and we want the validity of the cards extended to 10 years.”

The current situation

The driving licence cards are produced by the Driving Licence Card Account (DLCA), a Department of Transport entity.

The DLCA still relies on one very old machine to produce all the country’s driving licence cards.

On Thursday (8 May 2025), the department announced that the machine, which it said had been broken down since 5 February 2025, had been repaired and was working again. The department said there was a backlog of 747 748 cards waiting to be printed (see here), with a maximum production capacity of 14 000 to 19 000 cards in a 14-hour shift (see here). It would thus take 40 to 53 days to clear that backlog, excluding the addition of any new card applications.

OUTA has previously reported that the card machine has been in use since 1998 so it has seen 27 years of service, although it should have been replaced in about 2009 (see here).

What OUTA wants

OUTA has repeatedly called for a new machine to be procured, for improved transparency in that procurement process, and for the validity of the cards to be doubled from the existing five years to 10 years. OUTA believes these are crucial aspects of a long-term solution.

The procurement process: unresolved chaos

The DLCA has been trying to procure another machine for years, but repeatedly cancelled and reissued the tender.

On 14 August 2024, OUTA again questioned why the department refuses to extend the validity period for licence cards, and whether this refusal was linked to the DLCA’s impending contract for the new card printing machine. “OUTA is concerned that the refusal to extend the card validity period is linked to the tender to buy a new card printing machine and the money to be made from reprinting cards every five years,” said the OUTA statement (see here).

On 8 August 2024, the DLCA awarded the tender for the new machine to Idemia Identity and Security South Africa for R898 597 131 (see here and here).

In September 2024, OUTA provided Transport Minister Barbara Creecy with a comprehensive report on apparent irregularities in the procurement process and called for the tender to be overturned (see here). The Minister passed on OUTA’s report to the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA).

On 5 March 2025, Minister Creecy announced that the AGSA investigation – which included OUTA’s report – had found irregularities in the tender process and that she had instructed her department to lodge a high court application for a declaratory order on the DLCA tender award to Idemia, for guidance on how to proceed in the light of the AGSA findings (see here and here).

OUTA asks the Minister what happened to the court action

It appears that the high court application which the Minister promised did not go ahead.

On 27 March 2025, OUTA CEO Wayne Duvenage wrote to the Minister, asking for clarity on the situation. No reply has been received yet.

In the letter, Duvenage said OUTA had heard that the Department of Transport’s legal department and Director-General had both warned the Minister against cancelling the Idemia contract. Duvenage noted, however, that “the AGSA report was clear in its flagging of several irregularities, including that ‘the winning bid was noncompliant’. The AGSA recommended that the awarding of this tender be cancelled. This is sufficient reason for you to be confident in the decision you have taken.”

DLCA now looks for more revenue

The DLCA does not appear to have issued a new tender for the machine.

However, on 10 March 2025, the DLCA issued a tender looking at how to make more money out of the driving licence cards (see here).

The bid called for “a qualified service provider to conduct a review of the current cost model and develop a new cost model that will be aligned to a fair recoverable amount for the drivers license card” (see here).

The bid document says that “the DLCA has finalised the appointment of a service provider to acquire/procure the new driving license card production machine”, that it last adjusted tariffs in January 2014, and that the “DLCA is of the opinion that it is not realising/recovering the total cost to produce the Driver’s licence card”.

Does this mean that the DLCA has no intention of abandoning the Idemia contract, and that it signed up for a contract it cannot afford?

This bid closed on 11 April. There is no indication of whether it has been awarded.

The DLCA plans

The Minister tabled the DLCA’s annual performance plan for 2025/26 and its strategic plan for 2025-2030 in Parliament on 4 April 2025 (see here).

The Minister’s foreword in both the APP (see here) and the strategic plan (see here) says this: “An immediate priority is to secure an appropriate licence card printing machine and to minimise the disruptions that are currently experienced by the public around the renewal of their driver’s licence cards.”

The SWOT analysis in both documents includes listing as weaknesses the “lack of leadership stability and understanding of the role of the entity” and an organisational structure that “does not support its mandate”, and, as a threat, the “extension of the validity period of the driving licence card”.

The strategic plan says that when the new card is implemented, the DLCA will have to move premises to “support the additional infrastructure”.

The strategic plan lists problems with the production of cards as the “possible breakdown” of the machine, the unavailability of spare parts, the lack of technical skills and/or a maintenance contract, and the unavailability of printing paper.

Neither document explains the delays in acquiring the new machine. The strategic plan refers to the “delay in the roll-out of the new driving licence card”.

The strategic plan’s indicators for implementing the new card says “100% of the milestones for the new driving licence card project implemented” and “100% of the milestones for the digital driving licence implemented”.

More information

A soundclip with comment by OUTA Executive Director Advocate Stefanie Fick in English is here and in Afrikaans is here.

OUTA’s statement in September, outlining the information provided to Minister Creecy on the driving licence card machine tender, is here and OUTA's reaction when the Minister said she would cancel the contract is here.

More on OUTA’s criticism of the failure to procure the driving licence card machine is here.