Transport Minister Barbara Creecy has threatened to lodge an application in the High Court seeking a declaratory order on the over R400 million tender to purchase a new driving license printing machine. The minister and her department want the tender to be declared unlawful.

IRREGULAR TENDER

The department's decision follows the Auditor General's (AG) findings that the tender awarded to the French company Idemia was irregular. The AG said the department did not follow the proper procurement process to award Idemia in August 2024 to print the country's biometric driver's licenses. "We are concerned about whether the French company would protect the personal data of South Africans," Creecy said.

CAN THEY BE TRUSTED?

The department declared that no money has been paid to the company yet, and they intend to keep it that way. In 2024, the Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) cancelled an almost R400 million contract with Idemia to provide a biometric border system at its facilities. The cancellation of that contract led to Minister Creecy writing to the Auditor General to investigate whether the personal data of South Africans would be safe with Idemia. The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) has alleged that the tender for the card machine was deliberately manipulated to ensure that a specific bidder was awarded the contract. "This included repeatedly issuing, withdrawing, and reissuing the tender, along with three extensions of the price validity period, which is highly irregular and discouraged by Treasury's procurement guidelines. This tender should be cancelled and reopened, with extremely robust oversight mechanisms in place," Outa said.