South Africa spending R1 billion on new driving licence card machines

South Africa’s new driving licence card machines will cost the country R334 million each, and when they break down, repairs will be completed locally instead of shipping the machines to Germany.

These details were revealed in Transport Minister Barbara Creecy’s response to parliamentary questions from Rise Mzanzi MP Makashule Gana. She also revealed that the country will be getting three new machines.

Two machines will be used at the primary driving licence card production site, with one reserved for the disaster recovery site. Together, the three machines will cost just over R1 billion.

Each machine’s R334 million price tag includes the required software for its operation.

“A service provider has been appointed to assist the department to roll out the new driving licence,” Creecy added.

Regarding the current machine’s costs, the minister said the printer is 26 years old and has cost over R21 million to repair and maintain over the past five financial years.

The Department of Transport (DoT) has budgeted R870,000 for the current financial year. Repair and maintenance costs per year from 2019/20 to 2023/24 are as follows:

• 2019/20 — R2.49 million
• 2020/21 — R8.44 million
• 2021/22 — R4.71 million
• 2022/23 — R3.87 million
• 2023/24 — R1.58 million

“The current machine is nearing the end of its lifespan due to its age, which is why the Department has sourced a new device,” said Creecy.

“Maintenance is budgeted for R870,000 for the current financial year.”

The minister confirmed that the machine repairs will be completed in South Africa.

According to former transport minister Fikile Mbalula, the country’s current driving licence printer is the only one still in use globally. Moreover, it is the only printer in the country.

In late 2021, it broke down, causing a significant backlog in driving licence card production. It had to be sent to Germany for repairs and took months to return to service.

“The license machine is in Germany. It has broken. The machine is being fixed in Germany. We have been affected by the festive season in Germany,” Mbalula said in January 2022.

“It probably will take about a month or so, and the machine should be back.”

The driving licence card printer has been in and out of action at least twice since then.

The DoT recently announced that Idemia Identity and Security South Africa has been appointed the preferred bidder to produce the country’s new driving licence cards.

However, the department faces fierce opposition to its decision. Minister Creecy recently called for the Auditor-General of South Africa to widen its investigation into the bidding process.

The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) welcomed the minister’s announcement and said it highlighted several concerns surrounding the procurement of the new driving licence card machine before the department awarded the tender.

“Outa has for years repeatedly tried to get information from the DLCA and the department about the new driving licence card machine procurement process, but this has been refused,” it said.

“The department has also refused to make public details of the various tenders and related bidders, including the awarded contract value.”

The civil action organisation is concerned that the DoT may have deliberately manipulated the tender to ensure it was awarded to a specific bidder.

There are also concerns about the Airport Company South Africa (ACSA) recently cancelling its contract with Idemia following a dispute between Idemia and empowerment partner InfoVerge.

The dispute led InfoVerge to challenge the contract in the Gauteng High Court.

Minister Creecy asked the Auditor-General to widen its investigation into the tender process on 5 September 2024. She asked for probes into several key issues, including:

• Whether supply chain management prescripts were followed to the letter.
• Whether the tender’s criteria include sufficient measures to protect the safety of personal data.
• The implications of the procurement process on the recent cancellation of ACSA’s contract with Idemia.
• Whether Idemia’s technical capacity and timeous delivery were adequately considered in the tender process following allegations from ACSA of challenges with Idemia’s biometrics system at three airports.
• Whether South African service providers were considered for the contract.
• Whether the chosen bidder was the most affordable option.

“The Auditor-General has been requested to prioritise this audit process given the current backlog for driving license card applications and the parlous state of the current printing machine,” said Creecy.