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A South African driver’s licence card.
South Africa’s plan for a new drivers’ license printer is back to square one, as the government is cancelling a controversial R898-million contract with French firm Idemia due to procurement irregularities flagged by the Auditor-General.
This week, the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria declared that the tender was irregular, invalid, unlawful and unenforceable.
As a result, the tender has been set aside by the court, and the department has been ordered to re-advertise the tender within 30 days.
Transport Minister Barbara Creecy says as an interim measure, Home Affairs will assist in printing out driver’s licenses.
“I must say, we are delighted that we now have clarity on this matter. We can move on. We have been doing a lot of work with the Department of Home Affairs. You would understand that drivers’ license is actually a form of identification. It’s very important that the identification system in our country has integrity. It’s very important that we should be dealing with all forms of irregular activities. We believe that by working closely with Home Affairs, we will be printing the drivers’ license cards for us in the interim, while we are putting out a new tender in this matter.”
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