Parliament Urges Transport Minister to Speed Up Digital Licences

When Rikus Badenhorst, Chair of the Select Committee on Public Infrastructure and a Democratic Alliance MP, urged Transport Minister Barbara Creecy to set a firm timetable for a digital driving licence in South Africa, the Department of Transport faced mounting criticism over its aging card‑printing system.

Background and Past Promises

The idea of an electronic driver’s licence (EDL) isn’t new. Back in 2022, former transport minister Fikile Mbalula announced that a fully digital licence would be live by March 2025. That deadline slipped, and no concrete rollout has materialised.

Since the 2022/23 fiscal year, the Select Committee on Public Infrastructure has been tracking every promise the government makes about digital licences. Their ledger shows three major policy drafts, two tender investigations, and a string of parliamentary questions that have yet to be answered.

Current Challenges with Physical Licences

The existing system relies on a card‑printing machine that’s more than 25 years old. Frequent breakdowns mean "hundreds of thousands of cards" sit in limbo, and the backlog is costing the state billions of rands in administrative overhead.

Badenhorst warned that drivers often wait weeks for their physical licence, while the machines sit idle in basements across the country. "It is beyond me that we cannot introduce a digital driver’s licence which could be held on a cell phone and which could be operationalised," he said during a September 8 interview with TechCentral.

• Average wait time for a physical licence: 6‑8 weeks.
• Estimated annual cost of machine downtime: R1.2 billion.
• Number of unissued licences as of September 2025: roughly 340,000.

Parliamentary Push for a Digital Future

During the September 8 session, Badenhorst pressed Creecy for a "definitive timeline"—a commitment he says should be locked in within the next four years. He cited successful digital transformations elsewhere: the South African Revenue Service has gone fully digital, and Home Affairs is rolling out a biometric ID system.

"Why must we now wait in the transport department? The card machine is so yesterday and is something that sits in a basement somewhere and costs us billions," Badenhorst argued, drawing a direct line between past successes and the current impasse.

Minister Creecy, for her part, said the delay stems from an ongoing probe into irregularities surrounding the tender for a new card‑printing machine. Findings from that investigation, she promised, will shape the next policy on digital licences.

Upcoming Changes in October 2025

Even as the digital licence debate rages, the Department of Transport announced a separate set of reforms slated for October 2025. Drivers will need to pre‑register on an online portal before stepping foot in a licensing centre. The move aims to shave weeks off the queue and streamline document verification.

Another tweak: the licence validity period will stretch from five to eight years for drivers under 65. Those over 65 will still renew every five years because of medical‑check requirements.

Physical licences will also gain new security features, including integrated biometric data—an effort to curb fraud and make counterfeit cards harder to produce.

Technical Feasibility and Expert Opinions

Technology commentator Arthur Goldstuck, appearing on an SABC News segment on September 15, warned that South Africa’s current infrastructure might not yet support a nation‑wide digital licence rollout. He pointed to limited broadband penetration in rural areas and the need for robust encryption standards.

Still, Goldstuck noted that other African nations have successfully piloted mobile‑based ID solutions, suggesting a phased approach could work here. "If the state can get the biometric ID cards right, extending that trust framework to a digital licence isn’t a huge leap," he offered.

Industry insiders say the biggest hurdle is not technology but policy alignment. The tender probe has stalled procurement of a modern printer, and without a clear procurement roadmap, a digital system will lack the fallback physical infrastructure many officials still rely on.

Implications and Next Steps

If the committee secures a firm timeline, drivers could see their licences appear on smartphones within the next two years—a shift that would align South Africa with a growing global trend toward mobile credentials.

On the flip side, a rushed rollout without adequate security testing could open doors to digital fraud, a risk the Department is eager to avoid given recent spikes in licence‑related scams.

For now, the ball sits in Creecy’s court. The next parliamentary sitting in early 2026 will likely feature an update on the tender investigation, and watchdog groups are already preparing a set of recommendations to ensure any digital licence system meets international security standards.

• Key timeline: Committee aims for a ministerial commitment by early 2026.
• Projected cost of a full digital rollout: up to R3 billion over five years.
• Potential savings: reduction of licence processing time by up to 70%.