The only machine in SA able to print driver’s licence cards has been sent to Germany for repairs and will be back and operational “in the next month or two, maybe even quicker than that if the Germans have already started working on it”.

Transport minister Fikile Mbalula said on Wednesday that he will announce interim measures to handle the backlog of licence renewals and applications “sometime next week” in a bid to deal with the crisis.

In the meantime, drivers wanting to renew or replace their licences can do so only with a set appointment. They are charged an additional R90 for a temporary licence that has to be renewed every six months and then wait for an unknown period because the country’s only licence card machine is broken...