Zimbabwe’s economic problems have visited the Vehicle Central Registry who are now battling to produce over 150 000 Driver’s license to clear its backlog.
The licensing department is has been producing metal IDs (check image above) since inception. The machinery used to produce the metal cards are now obsolete and need to be replaced with machines that can produce plastic cards.
Currently the department is producing 48 cards in a day. On average, 300 drivers pass their driving tests daily. The backlog is dating back to August 2018.
George Makoni, the Central Vehicle Registry’s registrar said the backlog was resulting from lack of foreign currency. The department is supposed to import metal plates and special dye from the United States. “It’s not anyone’s fault, it’s our situation as a country at the moment,” said Makoni.
“All licences that we make are made using manual equipment. Our systems are not yet computerised. We are using old equipment which was acquired way back. “There is a computerisation programme called Zimbabwe Information Management System which was approved in 2018. Hopefully it will develop into smart driver’s licence to take over from the metal licence,” Makoni said.