AfriForum demands answers about appointment of manufacturer of new smart card driver’s licences

AfriForum demands information from the Department of Transport regarding the controversial appointment of IDEMIA Identity and Security South Africa as the preferred bidder to print the new smart driver’s licence cards for the department. The local branch of this French multinational company was awarded the contract of an alleged R898 million without disclosing any details regarding the four other bidders or information regarding the department’s decision-making process. AfriForum has therefore submitted two applications today in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) to the department to obtain critical information regarding this procurement process.

Through the applications, AfriForum requests, among other things, information about the bid prices of the other bidders; what other factors were taken into account to determine the preferred bidder; what costs were incurred to inspect a licence card printer in France; what costs were incurred to have the present machine serviced by German experts; and what the extent of the current backlog in respect of the issuing and renewal of licence cards is.

There are several reasons why the appointment of IDEMIA arouses suspicion, as this company’s contract with the Airports Company of South Africa (ACSA) was recently suspended and is currently being investigated for irregularities. A contract between IDEMIA and the Congolese government, worth $1,2 billion, was also suspended in the past month due to so-called “flagrant overpricing”. It is also simply suspicious that the tender process for the printing of South Africa’s driver’s licence cards has been postponed several times without any reasons or details being provided.

According to Louis Boshoff, Campaign Officer at AfriForum, road users and taxpayers are entitled to more information regarding this procurement process. “Transparency is of crucial importance in the Department of Transport’s decision-making process, as South Africans have long been fed up with the backlog in service delivery,” explains Boshoff.

AfriForum has also already instructed its legal team to study all documents that are delivered to AfriForum through the PAIA application process.