Western Cape DA wants licenses to be printed provincially after latest breakdown
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Western Cape is calling for the devolution of licence printing to address the country’s backlog. Driving licences for South African motorists will be changing later in 2023. This is what they will look like! PHOTO: https://www.zennidrivingschool.com/ READ MORE: SA’s only driving licence card printing machine broken AGAIN Devolution is […]
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Western Cape is calling for the devolution of licence printing to address the country’s backlog.
Driving licences for South African motorists will be changing later in 2023. This is what they will look like! PHOTO: https://www.zennidrivingschool.com/
READ MORE: SA’s only driving licence card printing machine broken AGAIN
Devolution is the name of the game in the Western Cape and after South Africa’s only licence card printer broke down recently, the Democratic Alliance (DA) in the province is calling on the Western Cape government to look at printing licence cards locally.
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WESTERN CAPE DA CALLS FOR DEVOLUTION OF LICENCE PRINTING
The DA governs the Western Cape government. Printing driving licence cards is a national competency that lies with the Department of Transport.
There is only one licence printer and it recently broke down again. Last week, the national transport department said the machine would be offline for two to three weeks because it needs a replacement part from the original manufacturer.
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Despite, the setback, the national department ensured the public there would be no backlog in processing licences and encouraged people to apply as per usual.
In a statement, the DA in the Western Cape called on the provincial Department of Mobility (Transport) to explore its options in devolving printing driver’s licences to a provincial level.
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“The driver’s license printing machine has now broken-down numerous times and has only added to our driver’s license printing backlog. The average processing time to issue a driving licence already stands at 26 days.
“New solutions are required to tackle the country’s driver’s license backlog as the ANC national government has proven it is incapable of doing so,” said the DA spokesperson for Mobility in the Western Cape, Derrick America. He is a member of the provincial parliament.
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TENDER FOR A NEW PRINTER CLOSED RECENTLY
As previously reported, the government’s tender for a new licence printing provider closed last week. If the tender is awarded, one of the new features of the system will be the introduction of a backup printer.
READ: SA searching for new driving licence card printers – tender closes today
The Western Cape government’s most notable pushes for devolution include the police in the province and the commuter rail system.