The Minister of Transport, Barbara Creecy, and Deputy Minister Mkhuleko Hlengwa have welcomed a High Court ruling that set aside the appointment of IDEMIA as the preferred bidder for the driving licence card machines tender.

According to the South African Government News Agency, the Gauteng North High Court on January 6 issued a declaratory order declaring the tender irregular, invalid, unlawful and unenforceable.

As a result, the tender has been set aside, and the Department of Transport has been instructed to re-advertise the tender within 30 days.

The department said that, pending the appointment of a new service provider through the re-advertised tender, the court has allowed it to outsource the printing and issuing of driving licence cards to the Department of Home Affairs.

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“The department has been granted permission to outsource the services of printing and issuing driving licence cards to the Department of Home Affairs during the interim period,” the department said in a statement on January 7.

The court’s ruling followed an application brought by the Department of Transport after the Auditor-General of South Africa identified irregularities in the tender process.

Commenting on the outcome, Creecy said the ruling affirmed the department’s commitment to transparency and lawful procurement processes.

“The court outcome vindicates the department’s decision to approach the court for guidance, demonstrating our commitment to transparent, credible and legitimate tender processes,” the minister said.

Meanwhile, progress has been made in addressing the backlog of driving licence cards caused by the breakdown of the printing machine between February and May 2025. The Driving Licence Card Account agency confirmed that the backlog was cleared on December 9.

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Between May 8 and December 8, over two million driving licence cards were printed.

Further developments include the approval by the State Security Agency of a prototype driving licence card designed by the Government Printing Works.

The department said the network connection between the Road Traffic Management Corporation and the Government Printing Works has been successfully tested, enabling the secure transfer of data required for card production.

“A cabinet process will soon be undertaken to seek approval of the prototype card design,” the department said.

The Department of Transport said these measures are aimed at ensuring continuity in the issuing of driving licence cards while strengthening governance and accountability in procurement processes.