This comes after reported tender issuing irregularities by the executives of the company. Acts of nepotism related to the 1billion tender are suspected in connection of European company that is in the panel of bidders. ACSA executives were spotted in photographs with the European bidder prior to the tender's public advertisement on November 1, 2024. This raised a few eyebrows and sent mixed messages to the public and to business owners who are keeping an eye on the ACSA tendering system.
This has led to audit review calls and further investigation on ACSA's procurement processes. Proper procedures should be followed by ACSA to ensure a fair tendering process. These events has led to the conduction of an internal investigation and the suspension of the Chief Information Officer after uncovering evidence of misconduct related to the biometric and digital identity technology projects.
The department of Transport has intervened and has called on the office of the Auditor-General to Audit the controversial tenders issued by ACSA. As a result ACSA was compelled to cancel the R115million tender over its controversial tender processes. The tender which was awarded to IDEMIA a french company had to be cancelled on the grounds that the BEE requirements were not met.