Transport Minister Barbara Creecy has turned to court to block the suspicious driving licence card machines tender after the Auditor-General (AG) spotted irregularities.
Image: Ayanda Ndamane / Independent Newspapers
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has called on Transport Minister Barbara Creecy to publicly disclose the full Auditor-General’s report on irregularities in the controversial driving license card machines tender.
The party insists that without transparency on the issue, the root cause of procurement non-compliance within the Department of Transport will remain unresolved.
DA spokesperson on Transport, Dr. Chris Hunsinger, has called for the full report to be made public to ensure accountability and address systemic mismanagement.
"The DA calls for the full report of the Auditor-General, not just a summary, to be made public by Minister Creecy, so that the full facts can be known and can be acted upon," said Hunsinger.
He further emphasised that the ongoing court proceedings to address procedural issues in the tender contract would not adequately address the deeper systemic failures that led to the tender being investigated in the first place.
The tender, which was awarded to IDEMIA Identity and Security South Africa a subsidiary of the French multinational IDEMIA for the production of new driving license cards, has come under scrutiny after the Auditor-General’s report found the R898 million contract to be irregular.
This figure far exceeded the original budget of just over R486 million set by the Driving License Card Account (DLCA). The AG’s findings have raised concerns about financial mismanagement and procurement irregularities in the process.
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In response to the AG's findings, Creecy has directed the Department of Transport to seek a high court declaratory order on how to proceed with the tender.
However, Hunsinger stressed that such legal proceedings would only address procedural issues and not the underlying causes of the irregularities.
"This is not an isolated incident, but yet another example of the inefficiencies and failures that have caused significant delays and frustration within the country’s licensing system," Hunsinger said.
He criticised the department’s handling of the matter, noting that it highlights broader systemic issues within the Department of Transport.
Hunsinger also stressed the importance of full transparency, urging Creecy to disclose who or what caused the serious procurement non-compliance in the tender process.
‘’Creecy must take South Africa into her confidence and disclose the root cause of the tender issue: Who and what caused the serious procurement non-compliance, and what irregularities were found to have occurred.’’
The DA said they are committed to ensuring accountability, and if Creecy fails to release the full report, the party will use parliamentary mechanisms to force her to disclose the information.
“We will use the mechanisms of Parliament to force the Minister to account and disclose,” Hunsinger said.
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