The Department of Transport (DoT) has selected a preferred bidder for the production of South Africa’s new smart driver’s licence cards, namely Idemia Identity and Security.
The company was picked out of a list of five prospective bidders, which comprised:
- Ren-form Corporate Print Media
- Nec Xon Systems (Pty) Ltd
- Muehlbauer ID Services
- Gemalto Altron Fintech Southern Africa
- Idemia Identity and Security — South Africa
Idemia describes itself as a leader in biometrics and cryptography working with over 600 government-linked entities around the globe, most recently being responsible for new identity documents in the Netherlands featuring a bespoke Smart Identity system.
In South Africa, Idemia has partnered with organisations such as Airports Company South Africa and Tymebank in the past.
“Idemia is expected to enter into a service-level agreement with the department in due course before commencing with its work to put in place the infrastructure and systems,” the DoT announced on Sunday, 1 September 2024.
“More information in terms of the timeframes will thereafter be made available to the public once the service agreement has been signed,” it said.
Tender document showing the front of South Africa’s new licence card
A long time coming
The DoT first got the green light to introduce new smart driver’s licence cards in August 2022 to combat the rising wave of fraudulent and counterfeit driving licences in South Africa.
These vital documents are set to receive numerous safety upgrades including watermarks and user biometrics that can store data and be channelled through multiple authentication systems.
However, despite the purported importance of the new cards, the rollout has suffered numerous delays.
Initially, the cards were supposed to be introduced to the public in the first quarter of 2024 following the launch of a pilot project in November 2023. The dates came and went with complete silence from the DoT.
Tender document showing the back of South Africa’s new licence card
Come April 2024, and the ex-minister of transport Sindisiwe Chikunga said that by the end of the same month, the DoT would be “printing new driving licence [cards] and will launch at least the first 100 per province.”
The minister ascribed the lengthy wait to the complexity of procuring the new printing machine that would be capable of producing the more technologically advanced cards.
South Africa currently uses only one ageing printing machine to produce the entire country’s licence cards. The machine has been in operation for over 25 years and is prone to breakdowns, resulting in huge backlogs in issuing new licence cards to drivers.
A tender for the new printer was advertised in November 2022 but ultimately proved unsuccessful. It was reopened in April 2023 with the DoT selecting the five shortlisted bidders in May.
While the preferred bidder has now emerged as Idemia, the DoT played it safe by not mentioning any new deadlines for the introduction of the cards and printer.
It previously indicated that it would endeavour to launch the cards before the end of the 2024/2025 financial year, giving itself until the end of March 2025 – around two and a half years after it was first given the go-ahead.
However, the recent appointment of new Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy saw industry stakeholders warning motorists about the potential of even more delays.
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