The Department of Transport has appointed IDEMIA Identity and Security South Africa as the preferred bidder to produce new smart driving licence cards.
The appointment was approved on 8 August 2024, and IDEMIA is expected to enter into a service level agreement with the department, before establishing infrastructure and systems.
IDEMIA is French-based company with branches in the African continent, including South Africa.
The department said more information in terms of the timeframes will then be made available to the public once the service agreement has been signed.
“The new licence card will incorporate new security features aimed at eliminating the ever-increasing risks of fraudulent and counterfeit driving licenses.
Considering the cost drivers of producing the driving license and the risk of fraud and corruption, the new driving license will continue to be manufactured centrally,” said department spokesperson, Collen Msibi.
The current card machine was in the past sent to Germany for repairs, resulting in a series of backlogs, resulting in some of the motorists to drive with valid driver’s licenses.
The bidding process for the new service provider was advertised in the government tender portal on 5 April 2023, which closed on 5 May 2023.
“This resulted in five bidders’ responses that were received and subjected to a thorough and transparent process of evaluation and adjudication by the bidding committee.
It was also subjected to a probity/audit process, the probity conclusion being that all the processes were in compliance with prescribed legislation and policies,” added Msibi.
