The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) has welcomed a court ruling setting aside the awarding of a driving licence card machine tender to Idemia following findings of material irregularities in the procurement process.

The court order was granted on January 6, overturning the tender that had been awarded in September 2024 by the Driving Licence Card Account (DLCA), a Department of Transport (DoT) entity responsible for producing the country’s driving licence cards.

The ruling follows concerns raised by Outa shortly after the tender was awarded, when the organisation alerted Transport Minister Barbara Creecy to evidence suggesting serious irregularities and potential fraud in the bid evaluation and adjudication processes.

Outa said it supported its concerns with documentation and analysis provided to Creecy soon after the tender decision was announced. In response, Creecy asked the Office of the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA) to engage with Outa and other stakeholders to assess whether the issues identified were sufficient to justify cancelling the tender.

On December 13, 2024, the AGSA issued a report that aligned with Outa’s concerns and formally recommended that the tender be cancelled. Despite this recommendation, Creecy only filed court papers in July last year seeking to have the tender overturned. The court order was finalised about six months later.

While welcoming the eventual outcome, Outa has raised concerns about the length of time taken to conclude the process, noting that the delay extended uncertainty around the project and prolonged potential risk to the State. The organisation said on January 12 that the lapse between the AGSA report, the filing of court papers and the final court order undermined confidence in procurement reform.

Outa also highlighted what it described as a lack of accountability for officials involved in the tender process. It added that there had been no known consequence management against officials within the DLCA or the DoT responsible for the irregular bid processes identified by the AGSA.

The tender for the driving licence card machine has been under scrutiny for several years, with Outa describing the process as marked by repeated cancellations, retendering and procedural resets over the past five years.

According to the organisation, this pattern has conflicted with National Treasury procurement rules and guidelines and has repeatedly raised concerns about governance failures, political interference and “tenderpreneurship” at the expense of service delivery and public trust.

Outa also referred to Creecy’s stated intention to extend the validity period of driving licences from five to eight years. The organisation noted that this proposal has been in the public domain for several months and said it remained unclear why the change had not yet been implemented.

Outa said the extension would reduce administrative pressure on the DLCA, lower costs for the State and motorists and improve convenience for drivers.

The organisation said it would continue to monitor developments related to the driving licence card project and procurement processes within the DoT.