Transport minister Creecy orders probe into driving licence tender award

Transport minister Barbara Creecy has requested that the auditor-general widen the scope of the audit process into the driving licence card tender award and investigate key issues.

This follows criticism of the September 1 announcement by the transport department that French technology company Idemia Identity and Security has been appointed as the preferred bidder to produce new smart driving licence cards for SA.

The department embarked on the process to find a service provider in April. Idemia was among five bidders that responded and were “subjected to a thorough and transparent process of evaluation and adjudication by the bidding committee”.

However, earlier this week the Automobile Association (AA) and civil action organisation Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) said the appointment raised more questions than answers and they were concerned about the lack of clarity in the selection process.

The AA asked for the value of the contract to be made public, as well as the time frames for the rollout of the new smart cards and why Idemia was selected over the other four bidders.

Outa CEO Wayne Duvenage met Creecy earlier this week to raise concerns about the tender process.

On Thursday, Creecy responded by asking the auditor-general to widen the scope of the audit process and include an investigation into key issues. 

These include whether supply chain management prescripts were followed to the letter; whether the specs for the project included adequate measures to protect the safety of personal data given the sensitivity of information and security features involved in the project; the implications for this procurement process of the recent cancellation by the Airport Company SA of a contract that was awarded to Idemia due to a contractual dispute between Idemia and its broad-based BEE partner InfoVerge; whether Idemia’s technical capacity and timeous delivery were adequately considered following allegations of challenges at three airports where Idemia’s biometrics system was contracted by the Border Management Authority; whether other South African service providers were tendered, including service providers contracted by the Government Printing Works; and whether the chosen bidder was the most affordable option.

The auditor-general was asked to prioritise the audit process given the backlog of card applications — estimated at about 380,000 — and the poor state of SA’s licence card printer. The printing machine is 26-years-old and has broken down 159 times.

The current driver’s licence cards and the equipment used to produce them were to be decommissioned on April 1, according to former transport minister Fikile Mbalula, with a five-year transition until March 31 2029 from the old to new cards.

The cards will incorporate new security features aimed at eliminating the risk of fraud and counterfeits. However, the government missed the April deadline, which it blamed on challenges of finding a suitable service provider.

Outa welcomed Creecy’s announcement of an investigation into key aspects of the procurement process .

“Outa is concerned the tender for the [new driving licence card] machine has been deliberately manipulated to ensure that a specific bidder was awarded the contract. This included repeatedly issuing, withdrawing and reissuing the tender, along with three extensions of the price validity period, which is highly irregular and discouraged by treasury’s procurement guidelines.

“Since Outa’s exposure of irregularities it has identified in this tender, more people and companies are coming forward to provide us with additional evidence of manipulation and serious irregularities pertaining to this tender,” Duvenage said.