Latest news with #R486
IOL News
08-07-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Legal battle stalls for South African BEE firm amid IDEMIA acquisition talks
However, shortly after clinching the deal, the two parties fell out with IDEMIA withdrawing INFOVERGE as their local partner. INFOVERGE then challenged this, resulting in the contract being cancelled by ACSA and INFOVERGE subsequently suing IDEMIA for R115 million in damages over their losses. The case involves a R115 million biometrics tender awarded by Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) to French firm IDEMIA two years ago with local BEE firm, INFOVERGE being given 30% of the contract. Following months of a protracted legal battle, the matter has now stalled, explains INFOVERGE CEO, Musa Mahlaba when approached for an update on their legal challenge. "We've been told that the South African arm of IDEMIA is under acquisition of sorts. We've been trying to get some clarity on this but they have not been forthcoming and have not responded, which leaves our legal matter in some kind of limbo as we wait. We have been advised to give it some time before we decide what options we pursue," he told IOL. IDEMIA also failed to respond to an IOL query on the matter. The fallout with ACSA also led to the suspension of ACSA's Chief Information Officer in 2024 amid allegations of wrongdoing in the tender process in which IDEMIA emerged as the winning bidder. The cancellation of the ACSA contract with IDEMIA also set off alarm bells over their other government tenders prompting Transport Minister, Barbara Creesy, to question another state contract awarded to IDEMIA - a whopping R486 million contract for the country's driving licence machine. Following an investigation into that, an AG report found that IDEMIA failed to meet key bid requirements. This has led to the current impasse over that contract with the Department of Transport looking to cancel the IDEMIA contract. That matter is ongoing. IOL
The South African
18-06-2025
- Automotive
- The South African
Government must suspend driver's licence fines in 2025
No driver's licence fines should be issued until the Department of Transport (DTC) gets its affairs in order and the printing backlog is overcome. This is the assertion of the Organisation for Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) amidst uncertainty over the delay. Previously, following yet another card-printing breakdown, the DTC said the backlog would take four months to clear. In May, Transport Minister Barbara Creecy confirmed that around 733 000 driver's licences sat in the queue. Nearly half of the 1.3-million backlog peak in 2022/2023. Although the DTC usually advises 14 days to process a licence application, this has risen to six weeks since the printer breakdown. To avoid driver's licence fines, authorities advise holding onto your expired license card, along with proof of a new application. The new card account and printing tender has stalled under Minister Creecy. Image: File Furthermore, the DTC said 269 000 back-logged cards had already been cleared. However, those numbers don't add up. At the current printing rate of 2 400 cards per day, it will take more than one year to clear the backlog, reports BusinessTech . As such, the Organisation for Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) is calling on Minister Creecy to suspend driver's licence fines. The non-profit initiative says government should waive fines and temporary licence process for those who have cards stuck in the system through no fault of their doing. OUTA believes it's unfair to fine motorists who are waiting for their card renewals. Likewise, in light of on-going printer breakdowns, OUTA argues the validity of all licence cards should be extended to 10 years. The civil action organisation has been highly involved in the license printing debacle. It was OUTA's independent investigation last year that uncovered significant irregularities in the tender procurement process. Driver's licence backlogs peaked in 2022/23 at more than 1.3 million. Image: Gallo/Jacques Stander In turn, the Transport Minister passed OUTA's report onto the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA). AGSA noted that while a new printing machine cost R486 million, a tender worth R898 million was irregularly awarded. Many believe this near doubling of cost was to facilitate new digital Driver's Licence Card Accounts (DLCAs). French company, Idemia, raised plenty of eyebrows when it won the massive tender. The firm is considered a leader in biometrics and smart technology and has associations with government all around the globe. There is still no clarity from the department on whether a new tender will be awarded. Or if driver's licence fines will be suspended in the meantime. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
The Citizen
10-06-2025
- Automotive
- The Citizen
DA demands full AG report on R400m driving licence tender
In March, the R400m driving licence tender took a wrong turn. The DA has demanded the immediate release of the full report by the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA) into the failed driving licence card tender. This follows the repeated breakdown of South Africa's only licence card printing machine, which DA spokesperson on transport, Dr Chris Hunsinger, called a 'collapse that continues to paralyse renewals for millions of motorists'. Driver's licence machine The latest failure of a staggering 733 000 card backlog caused by yet another breakdown of the country's sole driver's licence printing machine has laid bare the systemic dysfunction at the heart of the Department of Transport. 'Despite years of promises to upgrade to smart card technology and to acquire a second machine, the department has failed to deliver,' Hunsinger said. ALSO READ: Here's how much it cost to repair SA driver's licence card printing machine over three years Wrong turn In March, the R400m driving licence tender took a wrong turn after Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy instructed her department to file a high court application for a declaratory order regarding the R400 million tender for driving license card machines. This follows the AGSA's identification of irregularities in Idemia's South African contract as the preferred bidder. The Citizen sought comment from Creecy's spokesperson, Collen Msibi. No response had been received by the time of publication. The story will be updated if a comment is received. AG report Creecy received the final report from the AG in February on the investigation into alleged serious irregularities about the procurement process for the provision of a new machine for the production of the planned new driving licence card. In September 2024, Creecy instructed the AG to expedite and widen the audit scope for the new driving licence card procurement process after new evidence emerged of alleged serious irregularities in the decision to make Idemia the preferred bidder. The contract awarded in 2022 to a French company for new smart card printing equipment was flagged by the Auditor-General as irregular, with costs ballooning from a budgeted R486 million to R898 million, an overrun of more than R400 million. ALSO READ: The driver's licence machine is fixed, but another problem remains 'Department hiding' Hunsinger claims the department has 'hidden behind court proceedings and refused to release the full AG report to Parliament or the public.' He said to 'break the deadlock', the DA will submit a formal Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) request for the full Auditor-General's report. Parliamentary questions Hunsinger added that the DA will also table parliamentary questions to establish whether the AG's findings have been referred to the Treasury, the Presidency, or any law enforcement authority. 'The DA will push for a parliamentary summons of Driving Licence Card Account (DLCA) officials, together with senior leadership from the Department of Transport, to account for this ongoing failure. 'The Department of Transport has shown little regard for its constitutional obligation to be transparent and accountable. We will not accept a government that hides behind broken machines and broken promises,' Hunsinger said. Creecy's action followed the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa), providing her with new evidence of alleged serious irregularities in the decision to make Idemia the preferred bidder. ALSO READ: Driver's licence expired while printing machine is broken? Here's what you should do
