It appears that the Department of Transport (DoT) could be forging ahead with the introduction of South Africa’s new driving licence cards despite the numerous tender irregularities identified by the Auditor-General (AGSA).
The tender for the new licence cards was awarded to French firm Idemia Identity and Security in August 2024 after years of being put to market only to be withdrawn and reissued.
The successful tender immediately drew intense public scrutiny, leading to the Minister of Transport instructing the AGSA to investigate the matter.
Come March 2025, the AGSA published its findings which laid bare many discrepancies in the driver’s licence tender.
Among others, it found that all of the bids far exceeded the initial budget of R486.385 million, and that the bid requirements were ambiguous which led to inconsistent application of scoring.
It also noted that the Driving Licence Card Account (DLCA) – the entity responsible for the production of South Africa’s licence cards – inspected the wrong printer when it flew to France to judge Idemia’s capabilities.
The AGSA thus recommended that the awarding of this tender be cancelled.
In response to this damning report, Minister Creecy said she had instructed her department to approach the High Court for an order for guidance on how to proceed with the tender.
A few weeks later, however, it came to light that the DoT legal department and Director-General both warned Creecy against cancelling the Idemia contract.
Since then, neither the DoT nor the DLCA have made any public announcements on the status of the new driver’s licence card tender.
More questions than answers
The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) has called upon Minister Creecy to inform the public of what’s going on behind the scenes with the new driver’s licences.
Outa Executive Director, Advocate Stefanie Fick, said that the high court application which the Minister promised did not go ahead.
Additionally, she said that the DLCA does not appear to have issued a new tender for the machine.
“However, on 10 March 2025, the DLCA issued a tender looking at how to make more money out of the driving licence cards,” said Fick.
The new bid calls for “a qualified service provider to conduct a review of the current cost model and develop a new cost model that will be aligned to a fair recoverable amount for the drivers license card.”
The bid document said that “the DLCA has finalised the appointment of a service provider to acquire/procure the new driving license card production machine.”
It also said that the entity last adjusted tariffs in January 2014, and that the DLCA is of the opinion that it is “not realising/recovering the total cost” to produce driver’s licence cards.
“Does this mean that the DLCA has no intention of abandoning the Idemia contract, and that it signed up for a contract it cannot afford?,” said Fick.
The bid closed on 11 April 2025, but there is no indication of whether it was awarded.
In addition, Minister Creecy tabled the DLCA’s annual performance plan (APP) for 2025/26 and its strategic plan for 2025-2030 in Parliament on 4 April 2025.
The foreword in both the APP and the strategic plan said: “An immediate priority is to secure an appropriate licence card printing machine and to minimise the disruptions that are currently experienced by the public around the renewal of their driver’s licence cards.”
The SWOT analysis in both documents includes listing as weaknesses the “lack of leadership stability and understanding of the role of the entity” and an organisational structure that “does not support its mandate.”
The “extension of the validity period of the driving licence card” is also listed as a threat.
“The strategic plan says that when the new card is implemented, the DLCA will have to move premises to support the additional infrastructure,” said Fick.
The strategic plan lists problems with the production of cards as the “possible breakdown” of the machine, the unavailability of spare parts, the lack of technical skills and/or a maintenance contract, and the unavailability of printing paper.
“Neither document explains the delays in acquiring the new machine,” said Fick.
The strategic plan only refers to the “delay in the roll-out of the new driving licence card”.
The strategic plan’s indicators for implementing the new card said “100% of the milestones for the new driving licence card project implemented.”
It also said “100% of the milestones for the digital driving licence implemented.”
These documents suggest that the entities in charge of South Africa’s driver’s licence cards may be going ahead with the controversial Idemia tender.
Loading ...
