ACSA Acknowledges Irregularities in Biometrics Tender, Suspends CIO

Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) has suspended its Chief Information Officer (CIO) amid allegations of misconduct related to a multimillion-rand contract for biometric and facial recognition technologies.

The suspension follows an internal investigation that found prima facie (accepted as correct until proved otherwise) evidence of wrongdoing in the tender process, which involved the implementation of e-gate systems to control passenger movement at airports.

The controversy centers on a legal dispute over the R115 million contract for the biometric system, awarded to IDEMIA with a requirement to subcontract 30 percent to a South African, black-owned Exempted Micro Enterprise (EME) or Qualified Small Enterprise (QSE). Local BEE firm InfoVerge initially partnered with IDEMIA, and now claims it was excluded from the project post-award and has taken ACSA and IDEMIA to court.

ACSA’s suspension of the CIO, identified as Mthoko Mncwabe, is a precautionary measure to facilitate a more thorough investigation. ACSA has committed to further investigating the matter and reporting its findings to the public. IDEMIA, for its part, has maintained that it adheres to all regulatory procedures in South Africa and other countries in which it operates.

ACSA announced back in June of this year that it was advancing its R100 million (€4.9m) biometric and e-gate project, expected to be fully rolled out across nine airports within the next two years. The project involved implementing IDEMIA’s Passenger Flow Facilitation (PFF) solution to streamline airport processes using facial recognition technology.

The initiative aims to reduce transaction times and enhance security, particularly at immigration checkpoints. In recognition of some initial passenger reluctance due to unfamiliarity with the technology, ACSA said it would be addressing concerns through comprehensive education efforts, including a virtual tour on the ACSA app.

However, earlier this month ACSA acknowledged that a technical glitch in the new system caused significant delays at King Shaka International Airport The system faced challenges shortly after its rollout, leading to long queues.

Source: itWeb

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August 12, 2024 – by Tony Bitzionis