The Auditor-General (AG) has finished its investigation into South Africa’s driver’s licence card printer tender, which is likely to delay the rollout of the new cards even further.
The AG was appointed to address concerns over alleged irregularities in the tender process, which was awarded to the French company Idemia Identity and Security last year.
A controversial appointment
Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy has confirmed that she has received the AG’s report and that she will publish the executive summary once she has finished studying the complete document.
This was corroborated by Department of Transport (DoT) spokesperson Collen Msibi, who said that a public statement would be issued at an appropriate time, though no official date was provided.
The minister appointed the AG back in September 2024, when civil action groups such as the Organization Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) raised concerns over the announcement that Idemia was awarded the contract for the country’s new driver’s licence card printer.
South Africa currently only has a single outdated printer that has broken down several times over the past few years, prompting the DoT to finally issue a tender for a replacement.
It was later announced that Idemia had been appointed to supply the new machine, but the tender process was quickly flagged for several alleged irregularities, as well as its allocated budget, which ballooned from R468 million to R899 million.
Outa claimed that there were several discrepancies regarding the tender, with bidders being turned down despite meeting the technical requirements, while other companies came forward with evidence that their cost proposal bids had been tampered with.
The minister subsequently appointed the AG to investigate these accusations and determine whether:
- Idemia was the most affordable option
- The supply chain management prescripts were done according to procedure
- Idemia’s technical capacity and ability to meet deadlines were adequately considered during the tender process
- Measures have been taken to secure personal data, given the information and security features involved with the new driver’s cards
- Local services providers, including ones contracted by the Government Printing Works, were considered, and why they weren’t selected
The investigation was officially concluded at the end of January 2025, and it remains to be seen if and when Idemia will be permitted to continue operating as South Africa’s official licence card printer appointee, or if the tender process will have to start all over again.
In either case, it means that motorists can expect further delays for their new cards, with it only being a question of how long people will have to wait.
The new licences were first announced all the way back in August 2022 and have been hit with several delays attributed to various reasons.
The initial plan was to roll them out in a phased process from 2023 to 2026, but this has obviously not come to pass.
The missed deadline was blamed on the card printer tender, which was issued, withdrawn, and then re-issued in 2023.
Former Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga then announced that the new launch date for the cards would be April 2024, but this also did not happen.
Next, it seemed as if progress had finally been made when the DoT declared it had found a candidate for the card printer tender, only for Idemia’s announcement to become mired in controversy almost immediately.
Should the AG report point to wrongdoing in the tender process, there’s a good chance that it’ll cause another round of significant delays.
Outa CEO Wayne Duvenage has already called on Creecy to cancel the current tender and re-open a new one with substantial oversight mechanisms.
He further stated that, if the DoT decides to continue with Idemia, it will likely lead to litigation, which could tie up the new licence card plan for months while the legal proceedings take place.
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