Driver’s licence printer up and running ‘in two weeks’
The Department of Transport says it expects the machine used to print drivers' licences to be up and running by end of next week.
The department announced recently that the country's only licence card printer broke down.
Officials encouraged motorists to apply for a temporary one, in the meantime, to avoid penalties.
The request was met with public frustration, with many unhappy about having to fork out more for the temporary licence.
The department's spokesperson Collen Msibi says while they understand people's dissatisfaction, they cannot afford to issue documents for free.
"Unfortunately, there are administrative costs, there's paper involved, and so forth. Those costs, in order for the department to absorb such, there has to be money coming from somewhere.
READ: Here’s how much it costs to renew your car licence in KZN
"You can understand that would involve cabinet, it would have to involve Treasury to say where the money will come from to be able to finance the issue of temporary licences."
He says they are making progress to bring the printer back online.
"In two weeks’ time, it should be up and running. I'd say that by [the] end of next week we should know where we're going when it comes to that machine.
"We've been dealing with the supplier from France. We're quite confident that come [the] end of next week, we should be somewhere."
