The Department of Transport has been involved in a labour dispute since August 2018 with employees who were contracted to the Driving Licence Card Account (DLCA).
Amongst others, the employees were responsible for the production of Drivers Licences.
As the Department, we are pleased to inform you that the affected employees have agreed to resume with their duties pending the finalisation of the dispute at the General Public Service Sector Bargaining Council (GPSSBC).
The untimely dispute occurred during the annual production system maintenance period, where production machines are serviced.
In catching up with the July and August 2018 production of the driving licence cards, in September 2018, the DLCA implemented a contingency plan which saw the resumption of production of driving licence cards even though at a slower pace.
Since then, over eight hundred thousand (800 000) cards have been printed with over five hundred thousand (500 000) cards dispatched.
Applicants that have applied since September have received their cards. However, there is still a backlog of ninety thousand (90 000) cards that are still to be printed which mostly affects applications from July and August 2018. These orders have been prioritised to be printed in the next three weeks.
As an interim measure, the Department advises motorists to apply for a temporary driving licence card which has a validity period of 6 months.
This will ensure that motorists comply with the traffic regulations. Applicants can also check the status of their cards by sending their ID number to 33214.
The Department apologises to members of the public for the inconvenience as a result of the delays.