Minister of Transport Blade Nzimande has promised to clear a backlog of almost 200,000 driving licence cards. He said that his production team is working very hard to ensure the backlog is cleared.
In response to a Parliamentary question by Democratic Alliance MP Christiaan Hunsinger, Nzimande said that the backlog was caused by the 5-month workers strike and also a system upgrade to the production machine.
For the department to issue licences during the strike, it outsourced a contract to Prodiba to produce the licence cards.
Hunsinger noted that the public was complaining about the card delay while some licensing centres asked them to redo various tests and reapply for the license.
“The production team worked overtime to address the backlog. In January, there was a backlog of 250 000 cards, which was addressed on February. As at March, there was a backlog of 194 000, cards which was caused by a delay in the delivery of material. This backlog will be addressed by April ”, Nzimande said.
In a separate question, EFF MP Nontando Nolutshungu asked Nzimande whether ‘driverless’ cars existed in S.A and whether his department had planned for their mass production in South Africa.
Nzimande replied, “There are currently no driverless cars on the country’s roads. Yes, there are plans, but not in the immediate [future], due to policy and legislative amendments that would need to take place.”
