Johannesburg - Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula has blamed electricity blackouts for the breakdown of the country’s last functioning driver’s licence printing machine, but the transport committee in Parliament is not convinced.
The machine had been broken for at least two weeks before it returned to service this week.
Earlier this week, the Eastern Cape’s acting chief director for transport regulations, Xolisa Jakula, confirmed that the machine had been broken for two weeks and was expected to be fixed by the end of the week.
Mbalula said the machine was now back in service.
“The machine is up and running on the 24-hour shift cycle we planned ,to meet the demand and kill the backlog.
“The machine had challenges due to power outages,” the minister said.
Parliament's Transport Committee chairperson Lisa Mangcu expressed concern at the machine being out of service due to load shedding. He said they wanted real answers, and not excuses from the minister.
"We have been seeking answers from the department and the minister, we are not accepting the excuses being given and we will be calling the department because the excuses keep on changing since 2019," said Mangcu.
He said such a facility should have all the necessary backups to ensure that there was no stoppage in the production.
The DA’s spokesperson on transport, Chris Hunsinger, called on the urgent introduction of a new licensing card for motorists.
Mbalula announced in September that South Africans can expect a new smartcard-like driver’s licence from next year and that the current card would be decommissioned on April 1, 2024.
The new driving licence cards would be valid for 10 years.
Hunsinger said the current machine was causing chaos: “When the machine broke down last year November it took two months to repair, creating a massive backlog of more than 380 000 unrenewed licences.
“As it stands the country’s licence card machine is outdated and apparently the only one of its kind left.
“We now call on the minister and the department to speed up this process (of the new driving licence) to ensure that motorists don’t face another backlog and risk of being fined.
“As a further possible solution, the DA also suggested to the Portfolio Committee on Transport that provinces should manage and administer the applications and issuing of the new cards,” he said.
Hunsinger said the eNatis system would coordinate information nationally on the central database system but appointments, applications and issuing should be decentralised.
“This will reduce the risk of having to rely on one machine and a singular staff component,” he said.
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