In what will be welcome news for South Africa’s long-suffering motorists, Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy has indicated that a deal is in the offing with the Government Printing Works to provide backup in the event of a breakdown of the machine used to print South African driver’s licences.
South Africa has only one machine to produce the documents. It is 26 years old and has broken down nearly 160 times. It was out of order between January and May this year, meaning that many motorists have not been able to obtain their licence cards.
In terms of the agreement, the Government Printing Works – which produces such documents as passports and birth certificates – could step in as a “backup”. It should be able to do this in three months.
Creecy noted that a new machine was to have been secured at a cost of R400 million. A French company, Idemia, had been the preferred bidder, but an investigation by the Auditor General showed irregularities in the process.
[Image: https://www.flickr.com/photos/governmentza/51973776775]