Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) has terminated the contract for an automated border control project issued to IDEMIA, a French technology company.
ACSA announced the decision this morning, stating the contract termination is in accordance with the terms of the service level agreement, which provide for a 60-day notice period, allowing IDEMIA to complete the work that is already under way.
“The biometric and digital identity technology project remains key to ACSA’s short- to medium-term strategy to ensure a seamless and efficient customer experience connecting passengers to their next destinations, opportunities and goals. As such, the company intends to pursue the project in the near future,” says ACSA in a statement.
It adds: “ACSA remains committed to the best interests of good corporate governance, transparency and fairness, as we continue with an independent investigation.”
The development comes after ACSA suspended its IT head on 8 August, acknowledging there is prima facie evidence of wrongdoing in relation to the project.
ITWeb exposed in February that French multinational corporation IDEMIA had been accused of holding dual status as “referee and player” in the contract with ACSA.
The issue stemmed from the implementation of biometric and facial recognition technologies, as well as e-gate systems to control passenger movement at airports.
ITWeb reported that IDEMIA allegedly, with the assistance of inside parties, secured the multimillion-rand, four-year contract, side-lining its empowerment partner, InfoVerge.
ACSA and IDEMIA denied any wrongdoing in the contract issuance, claiming all processes were followed correctly.
Following the ITWeb story, law firms representing InfoVerge Solutions approached the courts, requesting the contract be set aside.
InfoVerge Solutions stated it was initially part of this “landmark project, awarded to IDEMIA and InfoVerge as a 30% B-BBEE partner”.
As evidence mounted, ITWeb approached ACSA for comment and it initially denied wrongdoing, saying: “ACSA followed a prudent procurement process in the awarding of the contract for the provision of an automated border control project, e-gates and a single token for a period of 60 months. All bids were evaluated in line with the requirements as set out in the request for proposal document.”
Two days later, ACSA placed its chief information officer (CIO) on precautionary suspension, effective 8 August.
ACSA said at the time: “We have since undertaken a preliminary investigation and have now found there is prima facie evidence of wrongdoing in relation to the biometric and digital identity technology project.
“It is on this basis that the CIO has been placed on a precautionary suspension. The precautionary suspension is to allow ACSA to conduct further investigation and report back to the public on our findings.”
IDEMIA’s head office in France previously issued a statement, saying: “Compliance and transparency are top priorities for IDEMIA Public Security, which reaffirms its commitment to systematically align itself with the procedures and regulations of the states in which it operates, as is the case for South Africa.”
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