Delays despite repairs in licence printing backlog

After months of mounting frustration for South African motorists, the country's only driver's licence card printing machine is back online.

- Kristy Kolberg

However, despite resuming operations in early May, a massive backlog of nearly 750 000 unprinted cards continues to clog the system.

The machine, which broke down on 5 February, has been in service for over 25 years and remains the sole device of its kind in South Africa. Repairs took more than three months, largely due to the difficulty of sourcing replacement parts from Europe.

Although the department insists the printing machine did not break down and has been operational since early May, it acknowledges that the nationwide backlog still currently stands at about 690 795 cards, with 269 370 cards already printed. This figure, however, includes new applications, the actual backlog being reduced by only 43 000 since 15 May.