Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy has directed her department to seek a high court declaratory order regarding the controversial driving license card machines tender.
Auditor-General raises red flags about license card tender
This follows an Auditor-General South Africa (AGSA) report highlighting multiple irregularities in the procurement process.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Creecy confirmed that the AGSA audit identified serious violations of supply chain management regulations.
“The audit found instances of non-compliance with the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), Treasury Regulations, and Driving License Card Account (DLCA) policies, rendering the procurement process irregular,” she stated.
The AGSA report raised concerns over the bid evaluation process, citing inconsistent scoring and deviations from the specified criteria.
“The bid evaluation committee had to use its own judgment due to ambiguous specifications, leading to discrepancies and a lack of transparency,” the report noted.
The tender, awarded to Idemia Identity and Security South Africa, a subsidiary of French multinational Idemia, has come under intense scrutiny.
The Department of Transport (DoT) announced Idemia as the preferred bidder for the R898 million project, nearly double the DLCA’s original budget of R468 million.
Lack of transparency and calls for a halt to the tender
The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) has long expressed serious concerns over the tender process, calling for an immediate halt to the contract.
“The way the DLCA handled this tender process raises big red flags,” said OUTA CEO Wayne Duvenage.
“We have seen tender manipulation, repeated cancellations, and last-minute changes that appear to favor a specific bidder.”
OUTA, in September 2024, requested that Minister Creecy instruct the DLCA to suspend any agreement with Idemia until a full investigation is completed.
Duvenage pointed to ACSA‘s (Airports Company South Africa) recent termination of Idemia’s R115 million contract due to irregularities as further cause for concern.
The Automobile Association (AA) also raised transparency concerns, questioning the lack of public disclosure on how the preferred bidder was chosen.
“The DoT must provide clarity on why Idemia was selected over the other four bidders,” said AA spokesperson Layton Beard.
“Without transparency, public trust in this process is severely undermined.”
The DoT has defended the procurement process, with spokesperson Collen Msibi stating that “the selection process was subjected to thorough evaluation and audit compliance.”
He added that Idemia would sign a service-level agreement before starting operations and that more details would be released thereafter.
However, Minister Creecy has acknowledged the concerns and assured that further scrutiny will be applied.
“Given the Auditor-General’s findings, we are committed to ensuring accountability and will take all necessary legal steps to address any irregularities,” she said.
OUTA has indicated that it will continue pressing for a review and has submitted additional evidence of tender manipulation.
“More whistleblowers are coming forward, and we believe this tender should be cancelled and reopened under stricter oversight,” Duvenage stated.