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
