The National Institute of Road Transport (INATRO) announced this week a set of urgent and structural measures to accelerate the issuance of biometric driving licenses, currently experiencing significant delays.
Key actions include doubling the daily production capacity, which will increase to 1,500 documents, and extending operating hours to weekends until 10 March.
According to O País, these decisions were made public by INATRO’s General Administrator, Cláudio Zunguze, during a press conference held in Maputo. The official explained that the institution is currently facing a backlog of approximately 35,000 pending applications, prompting the adoption of immediate response measures.
“INATRO will extend operating days to weekends in order to process license issuance requests more quickly. The goal is to relieve pressure on this service, which currently has around 35,000 pending applications,” he stated.
One of the main operational interventions will be the reactivation of a second printing machine, which had been out of service for some time. With this equipment back in operation, the institute expects to double daily production from 750 to 1,500 licenses. According to Zunguze, this increase will not require new investment, as it involves simply reactivating an existing resource. “The production period for a license should not exceed three months after issuing the temporary license. With these measures, we believe conditions are in place to restore normal processing,” he added.
The administrator acknowledged that the delays are due to structural problems in the current system, particularly communication failures between data capture and production modules, often requiring manual intervention by technicians. “We face a serious challenge in communication between the data capture system and the production system,” he emphasized.
To provide a definitive solution to these limitations, INATRO is in negotiations to hire a new provider for driving license issuance, which will operate under an integrated road transport management and monitoring system. According to Zunguze, the provider has already been identified, and the contract is expected to be awarded during the first half of this year.
“Everything related to road transport will operate within an integrated system with multiple modules. This will eliminate many of the constraints we currently face,” stated the General Administrator.
Another initiative announced is the posting of lists with the names of users whose licenses have already been printed at INATRO offices but have not yet been collected.
In parallel, the institute is working with regional and international authorities to ensure recognition of temporary licenses outside Mozambique, particularly in neighboring countries. “We are coordinating with road transport authorities so that our users do not face restrictions when traveling abroad. This situation will soon be resolved,” Zunguze assured.
When asked about the estimated 40 million metical debt with the company Brithol Michcoma, the General Administrator said that the matter is being handled through legal channels, without providing further details.
Source: Diário Económico
