IDEMIA, a French technology company, has expressed disappointment at the termination of its biometric passenger facilitation solution contract by Airports Company South Africa (ACSA), calling the move “unfortunate”.
Earlier this week, ACSA terminated the contract, which had become embroiled in controversy after claims surfaced that IDEMIA secured the multimillion-rand, four-year contract with the help of insiders, side-lining its empowerment partner, InfoVerge, in the process.
The development came following initial denials of misconduct by ACSA and IDEMIA, but as additional evidence mounted and InfoVerge filed a court application to set aside the contract, ACSA suspended its IT head on 8 August.
At that point, ACSA stated: “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.
“On this basis, the CIO has been placed on precautionary suspension. The precautionary suspension will allow ACSA to conduct further investigation and report back to the public on our findings.”
Yesterday, IDEMIA responded, saying: “While the contract termination is unfortunate, we understand and respect ACSA's decision. We look forward to the opportunity for ACSA to re-procure this solution in the future, ensuring South Africans and international travellers visiting South Africa benefit from a best-in-class solution that enhances security and improves the overall customer experience.”
A spokesperson for IDEMIA public security says: “IDEMIA was approaching the completion of phase one of the project when it received ACSA’s decision to terminate the contract for deploying the next-generation biometric passenger facilitation solution at South African airports.”
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