South Africa is not ready to switch to digital driving licenses yet. The country lacks the right digital systems to make this work.
Also, the way the government picks companies for projects is a big problem. Tech expert Arthur Goldstuck says digital licenses would help fix many driving problems in South Africa. But the country faces too many issues right now. Many people can’t access digital services easily. The systems also need to be safe & secure.
The biggest issue is how the government chooses companies for its projects. They often pick companies because of political connections instead of skill. This makes it hard to get the right people for the job.
Goldstuck points out that security is the most important part of digital licenses. They need good encryption fingerprint scanning and must work without internet too.
Getting this project right needs good planning not just knowing people in government who give out contracts. If the wrong companies get picked for the digital license project, South Africa will get a bad system that wastes money and makes it harder for people to use it.
The tech needed for digital licenses already works well in other places like Estonia and Singapore. But these countries have better digital systems than South Africa does. South Africa faces big problems with SITA, the government tech agency. It has lots of corruption issues and people often try to get rich from government deals.
This problem shows up in the current driving license system too. The process to get new card printing machines keeps getting delayed because of problems with the contracts.
Digital driving licenses & online services create problems because not everyone can use them. While more South Africans now own smartphones many people still lack proper devices or can’t pay for data.
We must not block people from driving just because they can’t access digital services. The goal of digital options should be to make things easier not harder for citizens. This means we need to keep physical licenses available even when we add digital ones.
The current problems with license cards won’t go away just because we add digital versions. Still the government keeps pushing toward digital solutions like Smart IDs and passports through the Department of Home Affairs. The key is finding the right balance between old and new systems so everyone can access important services.
Home Affairs is adding its services to more banks across South Africa. This will make it easier for people to get Smart IDs. They plan to open in 100 bank branches by December and reach 1000 branches in the next few years.
A big part of this plan is to connect Home Affairs with banking apps. This could show how other government services might work on phones in the future. Both SARS and the Reserve Bank want to create a complete digital ID system. This would include all official papers and payment options.
The Reserve Bank really wants people to use PayShap instead of cash. Expert Arthur Goldstuck thinks South Africa could have digital ID cards that store driving licenses and passports. But he worries about how to make this work properly.
He says the technology exists but needs to be both easy to use & secure. Goldstuck also points out that the current system of giving out contracts needs to change before this can work well.
