Mission possible: a licence to print

AFRIFORUM: PORTABLE PRINTER SPEWS OUT DRIVER'S CARDS

- Marizka Coetzer

AfriForum set up a table with a portable printer and a laptop in front of the department of transport in Pretoria yesterday and printed out sample licence cards while waiting for Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy to join their illustration.

The organisation's spokesperson, Louis Boshoff, said the driving licence backlog can be cleared as he printed out multiple sample cards.

"This is to point out to the department various options are already available locally that meet all the security feature requirements of licence cards in order to eliminate the serious backlog.

"The sample cards are made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), similar to existing ID cards, and feature the face of Creecy," he said.

Following a tender process for the supply of new licence card printers, the department's bid evaluation committee last year named a foreign company, Idemia, as the preferred bidder, but the bid fell flat.

"The award of this tender was put on hold after allegations of irregularities in other Idemia contracts came to light," Boshoff said.