Transport dept says ‘on track’ to deliver new driving licence card equipment

The Department of Transport (DoT) said it is on track to deliver a new driving licence card and printing equipment for the country amid the initial challenges of finding suitable service providers.

This comes after concerns were raised by civil society organisations about the lack of transparency by the transport department regarding the procurement process for the acquisition of a machine to produce the new smart card driving licences.

Evaluation and adjudication

Department spokesperson Collen Msibi said with the evaluation and adjudication of the bids completed, it is almost at a “brink of pronouncing a new dawn in the driving licence card environment, with the audit process being the only last hurdle standing in the way.”

Minister of Transport Sindisiwe Chikunga has indicated twice in the past two months that the department is at “the tail end” of the appointment of the supplier of the new machine.

Cabinet gave a go-ahead to the department to produce a new driving license card for the country on 30 August 2022.

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Msibi said the department embarked on its first attempt to source a service provider to deliver a turnkey solution.

“The above bid was advertised on 10 November 2022. This bid process was unsuccessful, resulting in a re-advertisement of the bid on 5th April 2023.”

“The above bid closed on May 5th, 2023, and owing to its technical complexity, this bid continues to be under consideration, which requires the department to adhere to prescribed SCM (supply chain management) prescripts and regulations,” Msibi said.

Bids

Msibi said the department is “pleading for patience as it is prohibited by law not to poke its nose into the affairs of the bidding committees.”  

“In compliance with the rules and regulations on tender processes, the Department can therefore not be characterized as lacking transparency.  The Department will pronounce on this matter when all processes have been completed,” Msibi said.

The department said bids were received from:

• Ren-Form Corporate Print Media
• Nec Xon Systems (Pty) Ltd
• Muehlbauer ID Services GmbH
• Gemalto Altron Fintech Southern Africa (Pty) Ltd
• Idemia Identity and Security – South Africa

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