Successful bidders for smart ID cards announced

(Image: GCIS)

"The first bidder is Altech Card Solutions, a South African company which will supply Government Printing Works (GPW) with card personalisation machines and an automated mailing solution manufactured by Datacard of the USA.

"The second one is Gemalto Southern Africa, a subsidiary of Gemalto SA, which is one the world's largest and leading ID card producers," said Pandor on Thursday.

She said Gemalto will supply GPW with blank, pre-printed polycarbonated cards containing a contactless microchip.

Roll-out planned for July

Earlier this month, Pandor announced during her department's budget vote that the introduction of smart ID cards will be rolled out in July this year.

Pandor said the smart cards must be viewed as a culmination of decades of struggle to reclaim the identity and citizenship of South Africans.

At the time of the announcement, Pandor said the smart IDs will first be issued to all first-time ID and re-issue applicants.
The smart IDs will initially be introduced at 27 Home Affairs offices across the country, in three offices in each province.

The new smart ID card will have a microchip, the specifications for which cannot be disclosed for security reasons. The microchip will house the necessary biometric data unique to every individual. The information on the chip will be laser-engraved to prevent tampering.

The smart cards aim to cut down on the fraudulent use of fake or stolen IDs, as the department says the new cards will be almost impossible to forge.