Collen Msibi, spokesperson for the National Department of Transport (DoT), has confirmed that the current backlog for driver’s licence renewals in South Africa is sitting at approximately 380,000 applications.
The considerable accumulation is mainly a consequence of the fact that the DoT is still using a single, 20-year-old printing machine to produce the entire country’s licence cards.
“The country has been marred by this problem of having one machine to print the licences,” said Msibi.
“It has become such a problem, as we speak, we have about 380,000 driver’s licences on the backlog.”
The DoT has therefore fast-tracked the procurement of a new licence card printer and is expected to sign a service-level agreement (SLA) with French firm Idemia in the near future for the delivery of such machine.
Not so fast, Idemia
Msibi revealed the substantial backlog to Newzroom Afrika after the DoT was hit with allegations by the Automobile Association (AA) that it did not follow due processes in appointing Idemia as the new service provider for the country’s upgraded licence cards.
On 1 September 2024, the DoT announced that it had selected Idemia as the preferred bidder for the production of the new driver’s licence cards.
Soon thereafter, the AA sounded the alarm over the reason the particular company was chosen.
It contended that the process of selecting Idemia was shrouded in secrecy for reasons unknown, and that it is suspicious that Idemia was chosen given that Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) recently terminated its contract with the company.
On 27 August 2024, ACSA ended its contract with Idemia for Automated Border Control services and subsequently launched an investigation into the biometrics company for alleged maladministration.
Four days later, the DoT named Idemia as the preferred bidder for the country’s new driver’s licence cards, raising several eyebrows in the process.
Msibi said the selection process was above board and followed all the prescribed processes set out by government for choosing a service provider.
The selection committee was required to sign confidentiality agreements, which is nothing out of the ordinary in their line of work, and are not allowed to speak out in public on how or why they selected Idemia.
Msibi said the appointment of Idemia by the DoT also took effect on 8 August 2024, whereas ACSA terminated its contract with the company on the 27th.
The termination therefore had no bearing on the DoT’s selection of Idemia.
ex-transport minister Fikile Mbalula with the current licence card printing machine. Source: MyBroadband
With dark clouds hanging over Idemia in relation to ACSA’s investigations, Msibi offered the assurance that the service provider could still lose the R898 million contract for new licence cards should irregularities be found.
The investigation is being led by the Auditor-General under the auspices of National Treasury which governs the procurement policies of state departments.
“If they investigate and they find certain things, [the DoT] has to be guided by Treasury on what happens next,” said Msibi.
“We are not saying that we are turning a blind eye on the issue of ACSA, of course it is a factor, but we need to see what happens out of that particular process. We can’t say we need to stop everything now that there’s this issue of ACSA.”
It’s a case of innocent until proven guilty, he said.
When asked directly when the new licence cards will be introduced, Msibi was coy about providing a definitive date.
He noted that the SLA between the DoT and Idemia remains to be signed by both parties, provided Treasury does not forbid the participation of Idemia.
After that, Idemia must set up the necessary infrastructure and systems specifically designed to produce the more technologically advanced licence cards.
Once this step is completed the DoT will launch a pilot project for the licences that will run for a period of six to eight months to iron out any last creases in the new systems.
Only when all of this is done will the licence cards be rolled out to the public in a phased manner.
“When we roll out it’s going to be phased over a number of years it’s not just going to be boom, everybody has it,” said Msibi.
He said it would be similar to when smart ID cards were introduced to South Africa in 2013. At the time, first-time ID applicants received the cards automatically and those who were renewing their old ID books could also elect to get a card.
“So we’re looking at something like that to happen,” concluded Msibi.
“We have to be honest with the nation to say it’s not something that’s just going to happen overnight, we still have to have that period where [Idemia] put all those infrastructure and the systems in place.”
The fear remains that should Idemia be dropped as the preferred bidder, the introduction of the new licence cards will be delayed even more.
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