OUTA praises Creecy for scrapping R800m driver’s licence tender
The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse has
commended the Transport Department’s decision to cancel a controversial
driver’s licence contract.
The department has filed papers in the Pretoria High Court to scrap the R898 million tender awarded to tech company Idemia South Africa.
The contract procured by the department's Driving Licence Card Account was for a new driver’s licence card machine.
In September last year, OUTA raised the alarm, pointing to serious irregularities in the way the tender was awarded.
It submitted its findings to Transport Minister Barbara Creecy, who then handed the report to the Auditor-General for further investigation.
READ: KZN driver’s licence examiner, instructor to be sentenced
In March, the Auditor-General released its interim report, which found the tender had been awarded irregularly.
The department's court papers highlight, among other things, a nearly R400 million cost escalation from the initial budget of R486 385.
It is asking for a re-run of the tender and for Home Affairs to print the licence cards in the interim.
OUTA says it's encouraged that the Minister acted and believes there is clear evidence of wrongdoing.
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