The Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs was yesterday unanimously critical of the numerous extensions granted to IDEMIA, the French multinational technology company tasked with implementing the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS).
Briefing the committee on the project’s progress, the Department of Home (DHA) revealed a number of challenges, including IDEMIA’s failure to fully implement ABIS.
ABIS was announced in December 2017, with the first phase supposed to be up and running after 12 months. It forms part of the DHA’s move towards a digital identification system and is intended to replace the Home Affairs National Identity System (HANIS), in an effort root out ID and passport fraud.
However, the project has been marred by controversy over the years, including a dodgy R400 million tender involving former service provider EOH. The DHA ceded the contract to IDEMIA as of 31 March 2021, after EOH decided to exit all government contracts.
During the briefing yesterday, DHA deputy director-general Thulani Mavuso told the committee the department started picking up some issues when it started interacting with ABIS between November 2022 and February this year.
For example, applications were getting stuck in the system and there was misalignment of registered fingerprints between ABIS and HANIS, he noted.
“We tried to resolve that particular issue to ensure those stuck applications are resolved. Some were resolved through a manual process, but clients waited longer than they are supposed to. In the process, we levied penalties against IDEMIA for the delay in starting phase two.”
Mavuso said phase one was supposed to be completed during the 2021/2022 financial year, but had to go into the 2022/2023 financial year. ABIS phase two was set to commence on 1 April 2023, but was delayed due to the failure to complete phase one by 18 March 2023.
“We were advised that the team was ready with 17 March as the date to release ABIS into production; in other words, complete phase one and ensure we start phase two in the new financial year [2023/2024].
“On that day, when the system was supposed to be released, there were technical issues on the ABIS database, where the database was not available for 15 hours. We then took a decision that we could not continue. Even though the system was back, there were challenges of operational issues, like stuck applications, in the past four months.
“We decided to switch all the linkages back to HANIS and then asked IDEMIA to resolve the particular issue of stuck applications, and ensure when we bring the system back into production, we are bringing something that has no errors because we can’t have a trial-and-error situation.”
In a letter to the department, IDEMIA accepted full responsibility for the failure of the system, revealed Mavuso.
He added that ABIS phase two will only commence once the results are positive, noting 19 May has been identified to begin with the second phase.
A few choice words
The portfolio committee members were dissatisfied with the ABIS implementation process, saying the delays are concerning, especially given the huge financial investment.
Furthermore, they questioned why the department continued to give IDEMIA extensions to get the system online. They also raised doubts that the system will go live this coming weekend.
DHA director-general Tommy Makhode appealed to the committee to allow this weekend’s activities to be undertaken.
“Post the weekend, we can therefore make an assessment and look at the progress, or lack thereof, and then come back to brief the committee with regards to what we are doing in this situation.”
DHA deputy minister Njabulo Nzuza added: “Our intentions throughout this project have been to save the project, with an understanding that ABIS is a cornerstone for the future of IT infrastructure and it takes precedence for us.
“The extensions have been granted in the spirit of saving this particular project. Our approach has not been to pay for services where we have not derived value and we are imposing penalties where necessary.
“We have no intentions to massage anyone here; we want to make sure services are delivered and we will take action within legislation and within the powers that we have, to make sure we move forward.”
Home affairs minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi was candid in his response to the challenges: “It is very unacceptable, extremely frustrating and we are despondent about this matter. We are sitting between a rock and a hard place.”
He explained that by choosing IDEMIA when EOH pulled out of all government contracts, including the contract with home affairs, the DHA was trying to be pragmatic. “We took a leap of faith and decided to go on with this one [IDEMIA] rather than starting from the beginning. Unfortunately, things have turned in a way we did not anticipate.”
Motsoaledi tried to allay MPs’ concerns that HANIS is an obsolete system, saying the reason for the move to ABIS is part of IT advancement. “HANIS is still serving us very well. That’s why when there is a problem, we run back to it.
“The reason we went to ABIS, we wanted to be ahead of the thugs who are corrupt in the department by adding more biometrics because HANIS only has two – fingerprints and photos. We are trying to add iris and facial recognition, etc. We hope that when we meet over the weekend, it will give us a way forward.
“We are equally disappointed that IDEMIA, which we regarded as an international company with experience, came to have the type of failures that they are having,” the minister concluded.
When previously contacted in 2022 by ITWeb for comment on the delays experienced at that time, Sandra Valerii, vice-president of group public affairs and press relations at IDEMIA, responded: “As a policy, IDEMIA does not comment on its contracts.”
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