Why has the questionable driving licence card tender not been overturned?

The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) is questioning why the controversial drivers’ licence card machine tender has still not been overturned after it handed over a comprehensive report on apparent irregularities in the procurement process for the machine to minister of transport Barbara Creecy in September last year.

According to advocate Stefanie Fick, executive director of Outa, the minister passed on the civil action organisation’s report to the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA).

Meanwhile, the single old machine used to print the driver’s licence cards broke down, but has fortunately been repaired again, although there is now a new backlog for printing the cards.

The department said there was a backlog of 747 748 cards waiting to be printed, with a maximum production capacity of 14 000 to 19 000 cards in a 14-hour shift.

Fick says it would therefore take 40 to 53 days to clear that backlog, excluding the addition of any new card applications.

“Outa is still waiting for the department of transport’s solution to this critical problem. It is a relief to hear that the machine has been repaired, but the question is how soon it will break down again. This old card machine is prone to regular breakdowns and is bound to break down again.

“It is also seriously lacking in modern security features. The long-term solution, which is a decade overdue, is the finalisation of the new driving licence card solution, either through a tender awarded to a private company or through the Government Printing Works which successfully manages the printing of the ID cards for the department of home affairs.

“We want a new machine procured and we want the validity of the cards extended to ten years.”

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Who prints the drivers’ licence cards?

The driving licence cards are produced by the Driving Licence Card Account (DLCA), an entity of the Department of Transport. The DLCA still relies on one very old machine to produce all the country’s driving licence cards.

Outa previously reported that the card machine has been in use since 1998, although it should have been replaced in about 2009.

Fick says Outa has repeatedly called for a new machine to be procured, for improved transparency in that procurement process and for the validity of the cards to be doubled from the existing five years to ten years, as it believes these are crucial aspects of a long-term solution.

“The DLCA has been trying to procure another machine for years but repeatedly cancelled and reissued the tender. On 14 August 2024, Outa again questioned why the department refuses to extend the validity period for licence cards and whether this refusal was linked to the DLCA’s impending contract for the new card printing machine.

“Outa is concerned that the refusal to extend the card validity period is linked to the tender to buy a new card printing machine and the money to be made from reprinting cards every five years.”

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Tender for new drivers’ licence card machine

On 8 August 2024, the DLCA awarded the tender for the new machine to Idemia Identity and Security South Africa for R898 597 131. In September 2024, Outa gave Creecy a comprehensive report on apparent irregularities in the procurement process and called for the tender to be overturned.

On 5 March, Creecy announced that the AGSA investigation, which included Outa’s report, found irregularities in the tender process and that she instructed her department to lodge a high court application for a declaratory order on the DLCA tender award to Idemia for guidance on how to proceed in light of the AGSA findings.

However, Fick says it appears that the high court application Creecy promised did not go ahead. On 27 March, Outa CEO Wayne Duvenage wrote to her, asking for clarity on the situation. She has not replied yet.

Duvenage wrote in the letter that Outa heard that the department’s legal department and its director-general had warned her against cancelling the Idemia contract, but noted that “the AGSA report was clear in its flagging of several irregularities, including that the ‘winning bid was noncompliant’.

“The AGSA recommended that the awarding of this tender be cancelled. This is sufficient reason for you to be confident in the decision you have taken,” he wrote.

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Another new tender for finding out how to make more money with drivers’ licence cards

Fick says it does not appear as if the DLCA issued a new tender for the machine although it issued a tender on 10 March looking at how to make more money out of the driving licence cards. The bid called for “a qualified service provider to conduct a review of the current cost model and develop a new cost model that will be aligned to a fair recoverable amount for the drivers’ licence card”.

According to the bid document “the DLCA has finalised the appointment of a service provider to acquire/procure the new driving licence card production machine”.

The document also said the entity last adjusted tariffs in January 2014 and that “is of the opinion that it is not realising/recovering the total cost to produce the Driver’s licence card”.

Fick wants to know if this means that the DLCA has no intention of abandoning the Idemia contract and that it signed up for a contract it cannot afford. This bid closed on 11 April, but there is no indication of whether it has been awarded.

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Department of transport’s plans for drivers’ licence card machine

Creecy tabled the DLCA’s annual performance plan for 2025/26 and its strategic plan for 2025-2030 in parliament on 4 April 2025. According to her foreword, it is “an immediate priority to secure an appropriate licence card printing machine and minimise the disruptions that are currently experienced by the public around the renewal of their driver’s licence cards”.

The SWOT analysis in both documents includes weaknesses such as the “lack of leadership stability and understanding of the role of the entity” and an organisational structure that “does not support its mandate”. As a threat, the “extension of the validity period of the driving licence card”.

According to the strategic plan, the DLCA will have to move premises to “support the additional infrastructure” when the new card is implemented. It lists problems with the production of cards as the “possible breakdown” of the machine, the unavailability of spare parts, the lack of technical skills and/or a maintenance contract and the unavailability of printing paper.

Fick points out that neither document explains the delays in acquiring the new machine. The strategic plan just refers to the “delay in the roll-out of the new driving licence card”.

The plan’s indicators for implementing the new card says “100% of the milestones for the new driving licence card project implemented” and “100% of the milestones for the digital driving licence implemented”.