The Department of Transport says it is on track to deliver a new driver’s licence card and printing equipment for the country amid the initial challenges of finding a suitable service provider/s.

‘With the evaluation and adjudication of the bids completed, the department is almost on the 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,’ the department said on Monday.

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

As a result, 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 5 April 2023. Bid DLCA/2023/01: Provision of a Turnkey Solution for Personalisation of Smart Driving Cards in South Africa was advertised in the government tender portal,’ the department sa
id.

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

Guided by the above, the department received five bids from the following bidders:

Ren-form Corporate Print Media.

Nec Xon Systems (Pty) Ltd.

Muehlbauer ID Services

Gemalto Altron Fintech Southern Africa.

Idemia Identity and Security – South Africa.

With the evaluation and adjudication of the bid completed, the department has emphasised that the bid is undergoing standard and required probity/audit processes.

The department cannot finalise the bid process until the above is completed.

‘The department pleads 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 characterised as lacking transparency. The department wil
l pronounce on this matter when all processes have been completed,’ it said.

Source: South African Government News Agency