South Africa’s new driver’s licence cards stuck in limbo

South Africa’s new driver’s licence cards are caught in limbo, facing a seemingly endless cycle of delays and controversies.

Making matters worse, the Department of Transport (DoT) has shot down other solutions that may have been able to produce a result much faster than the licence card tender process.

Back and forth

The proposal to introduce new driver’s licence cards has been an uphill battle since they were first announced back in August 2022.

The lengthy process finally appeared to be wrapping up in late 2024 when it was announced that a French company – Idemia Identity and Security – had been awarded the tender to procure South Africa’s new card printing machine, but this quickly set off a new wave of concerns.

Civil action groups flagged multiple deviations in the tender process, which prompted Transport Minister Barbara Creecy to instruct the Auditor-General (AG) to expeditiously investigate the allegations.

This investigation was concluded in January 2025, but a summary of the AG’s report has yet to be released to the public.

This means that South Africa’s new licences are once again in a holding pattern until the report is published, which will determine what will happen next, but delays are likely regardless of the outcome.

If the AG’s findings recommend that the department start the procurement process from the beginning, it could result in months or even years of delays, if prior events are anything to go by.

Even if the AG’s report concludes that Idemia can go ahead with the contract, civil groups like the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) have stated that they will pursue legal action against the appointment, which could tie up the proceedings in litigation for an equally long time.

Other solutions

South Africa has been searching for a replacement for its singular, outdated licence card printing machine, which has broken down several times in the last few years leading to severe backlogs.

While the licence printer tender continues to be mired in controversy, two other possible solutions have been proposed to the DoT, but neither of these ideas have made it off the ground.

The first was to extend the validity period of South Africa’s licence cards, which may not fix the printing problem entirely, but would significantly cut down on the backlog formed by relatively frequent renewals.

South African cards are only valid for five years, and it was suggested that this period should be extended to between eight and ten years.

This solution was said to be making its way to the cabinet for approval by then-Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula, but his successor, Sindisiwe Chikunga, swiftly waved it away.

The DoT rejected the suggestion over “health concerns” as well as an apprehension that a standard card would deteriorate before its expiry date due to the material from which it is made, but both of these claims were quickly debunked.

Many other countries have cards with longer validity periods and are still usable, and Outa alleged that the DoT could not support its health claim while also ignoring research that recommended a longer eight-year validity period.

The other proposed solution is digital driver’s licences, but little progress has been made on this front, too.

Critics of the licence tender process and the DoT’s reluctance to extend licence validity periods have called for the introduction of digital cards with no expiry date, thereby eliminating both of the problems with the current system.

The digital suggestion was brought up again by the National Council of Province’s Public Infrastructure Committee in November 2024, when the group was discussing the issues with the new licence card printer delay.

Committee chair Frederik Badenhorst inquired about the progress on digital licence cards but was shot down by the DoT, which said it is not currently government policy.

It argued that procurement processes are guided by government policy, and while there is no opposition to the digitalisation of documents like driving licenses, this is not currently part of the established policy framework.