702’s Bongani Bingwa chats to Advocate Stefanie Fick of the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA).
Listen to their conversation in the audio clip below:
South Africa’s long-running driver’s licence card crisis has taken a dramatic turn after it was revealed that a nearly R1 billion contract to replace the country’s ageing card printing machine may have been unlawfully awarded.
A Sunday Times exposé details how Transport Department officials were flown to France and Amsterdam to view a high-tech printing machine, only to learn later that the device shown was not the one that would be delivered to South Africa.
Yet somehow, when they returned, they recommended the company, Idemia South Africa (ISA), which walked away with a contract worth nearly R1 billion, more than R412 million over the original proposed budget.
According to civil society watchdog OUTA, the tender process appears to have been manipulated to favour ISA.
“It’s a comedy of errors.”
– Adv Stefanie Fick, Accountability and Public Governance – OUTA
“This whole contract and how it was awarded… it’s just red flags all over.”
– Adv Stefanie Fick, Accountability and Public Governance – OUTA
The Auditor-General reportedly deemed the process ‘unlawful and fundamentally flawed’, raising questions about the integrity of the procurement and its cost to taxpayers.
“We have a long way to go for our system to procure the things that we need, that the price is competitive, and in the best interest of the country. We need a machine because the machine keeps breaking. We need a machine that will give us what we need and at the best price.”
– Adv Stefanie Fick, Accountability and Public Governance – OUTA
Legal action is now underway, with the Department seeking to cancel the contract through the courts.
“Unfortunately, it has to go through a court challenge. The Department has filed papers, set out why they want this contract to be set aside or that they can start the bidding process all over, and Idemia is saying no, we want this contract… there was nothing wrong with it.”
– Adv Stefanie Fick, Accountability and Public Governance – OUTA
“It is sad that we have to go through this because, again, it’s legal fees. Two wrongs don’t make a right. We cannot afford for this tender to go ahead.”
– Adv Stefanie Fick, Accountability and Public Governance – OUTA
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