IDEMIA driving licence tender a ‘catch-22’ for transport department
The department’s Collen Msibi said the new tender awarded to IDEMIA was the answer to the country’s driving licence crisis, despite the company being investigated for alleged irregularities.
FILE: Twitter/Fikile Mbalula
JOHANNESBURG - The Transport Department says it's in a difficult position in the awarding of a new tender to French technology company IDEMIA, as it works to find a solution to the country's driver's licence printing crisis.
The company’s appointment has been questioned by the Automobile Association (AA), which is approaching Parliament to flag it.
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The department awarded IDEMIA the contract of over R898 million to produce smart drivers’ licences, while the company is being investigated for alleged irregularities in another tender with Airports Company South Africa (ACSA).
Last year, backlogs formed at the Transport Department as the country’s only driver's licence printing machine was taken for repairs in Germany.
The department’s Collen Msibi said the new tender awarded to IDEMIA was the answer to this crisis.
"It is the very same people who will come and say—why did you not proceed? What were you waiting for? The country is in a crisis. The investigation is an investigation, but you should have proceeded."
He said the investigation into IDEMIA’s ACSA contract, which has now been terminated, has no bearing on its new contract.
"We are in a catch-22 situation. We are caught between a rock and a hard place, because you guys are saying suspend the process; these guys are being investigated, therefore they don’t qualify. They come and say, but we do qualify - where does the investigation have anything to do with what is happening at Transport?"