Driving licence printing machine breaks down again

The National Transport Department says the machine broke down after undergoing routine maintenance.

It says it's likely to remain non-functional for around three weeks.

The last time the machine went offline it resulted in a backlog of thousands of unprocessed driving licences.

The department's spokesperson Collen Msibi has called for calm.

"We would like to reassure members of the public that the production of driving licence cards will not be affected by the routine maintenance of the card production machine. 

"The routine maintenance started on the 5th to the 19th of April 2023. However, our technical team encountered a technical breakdown which requires a replacement of a critical component of this machine. 

"It is therefore anticipated that the resumption of card production shall commence within the next 2 to 3 weeks from now."