Printing licences on the pavement

Passersby in Pretoria were treated to an unusual scene this week: a folding table, a portable printer, and AfriForum printing driver’s licence cards right on the pavement outside the Department of Transport. Each card carried the face of Transport Minister Barbara Creecy, a cheeky illustration of what the civil rights group says government could be doing to end South Africa’s massive licence backlog.

AfriForum spokesperson Louis Boshoff said the point was simple: “The technology exists here at home. We can do this securely and efficiently. The only thing missing is political will.”

According to AfriForum, there are enough local service providers and technologies available to make the backlogcurrently standing at over 300,000 unprinted cards, a problem of the past.

Tender drama stalls solutions

The protest-style demo comes after a botched tender process left the Department of Transport without a way forward. French company Idemia had been chosen as the preferred supplier of new printing technology, but the contract was halted after corruption concerns surfaced. Nearly a year later, no new printers have been procured.

For AfriForum, this delay is proof of government’s unwillingness to act. “It appears the government prefers to drag out the procurement process at the expense of service delivery,” Boshoff said.

Government insists backlog is shrinking

The Department pushed back, with spokesperson Collen Msibi insisting the Driving Licence Card Account (DLCA) is catching up. Since May, he said, over 1.3 million licences have been printed. The backlog, he added, has already dropped from half a million to 336,000 cards. DLCA staff are now working round the clock on 24-hour shifts.

Still, the proof, as many motorists would argue, is in the waiting.

Life on the ground: a mixed bag of experiences

The backlog isn’t just numbers, it’s the lived frustration of South African drivers.

• Jaquelene Politis Smith waited three months for her card.

• Johan Syffert drove 105km to Harding after his paperwork went missing, only to wait another six weeks.

• Bronwyn Pires applied early to beat her renewal deadline but still spent over two months waiting.

Yet not everyone shares horror stories. Nade Coetzee, who renewed in Centurion, said she was “shocked” by the speed and efficiency. “I was in and out in 20 minutes, every counter was staffed, and the card update came through quickly,” she said.

This mixed reality points to a patchwork system, where your experience depends less on national policy and more on where you happen to apply.

Beyond the backlog: a question of trust

For many South Africans, AfriForum’s stunt was more than a publicity exercise, it was a symbolic challenge to a government often accused of dragging its feet on service delivery.

Social media lit up with divided reactions. Supporters praised AfriForum for highlighting inefficiency, while critics dismissed the move as political grandstanding. Either way, the message landed: citizens are tired of excuses.

The licence backlog has become a microcosm of a larger frustration with public servicesdelayed, inconsistent, and riddled with procurement controversies. As Boshoff put it, “This isn’t about printers. It’s about willpower.”

With Creecy absent from the demonstration, motorists are left wondering: if a civil rights group can print a sample card on a sidewalk, why can’t government do it faster behind its own walls?

{Source: The Citizen}

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