Is SA’s only license printing machine still broken over a month later?

More than a month since South Africa’s ONLY license printing machine broke down, there has still been no news from the Department of Transport on whether the machine has been fixed, despite promising that driving license cards would be printed again within two to three weeks.

AfriForum says it’s putting pressure on the Transport Minister. The organisation has today sent a letter to Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga requesting clarity on whether the machine has yet been fixed, and if not – a timeframe within which it will be fixed.

The last time the machine, which provides such a critical service, broke was less than a year ago!

AfriForum said in a statement on Monday that it will be heading to the High Court in Pretoria on 7 and 8 August to “demand, among other things, a declaratory order stating that the five-year validity period of driving licenses is unconstitutional and that all fines issued for expired licenses are unconstitutional”.

AfriForum campaign officer Ernst van Zyl says: “Not only is the South African government unable to provide the basic service of license renewal, but they also appear to either not have the ability or desire to keep the public informed on the status of the problem they caused.”