The driving license printing machine that’s caused many a South African headache, is entering its final rodeo with good news of new machines (plural!) and new licenses on the cards.
South Africa (20 June, 2023) — Anyone who’s felt the South African headache of our one and only driving license printing machine taking some ‘time off’ due to repairs can breathe a sigh of relief in knowing future license holders will be better off!
New South African licenses are on the cards for South Africa as well as new printing and production machines—emphasis on the plural.
According to the National Department of Transport, it is currently “working on the process to introduce a new driving licence card as approved by Cabinet in August 2022.”
The Department further shared:
“The new DL card will be launched before the end of the current financial year. It will also bring with it new card production machines to replace the current machine.”
This will hopefully make the massive driving license backlogs South Africa has experienced—most recently a backlog of 350 000 cards—a chapter closed.
The new licenses will reportedly incorporate new technologies and have updated security features like biometric data and holograms to prevent license fraud, as BusinessTech reports.
As for the current printer, the beast is reportedly back up and running.
Meanwhile, in more update news, South Africa’s Rand makeover recently came into effect, and the new look reunited the Big 5 with their families!