The new Credit Card Format (CCF) drivers` licence manufacturing facility was officially opened by the Minister of Transport, Mac Maharaj at a function held in Pretoria on 3 March. Face Technologies, a company in the Ariel Technologies group, was awarded the contract to manufacture the new licences which are to be issued by licencing offices throughout South Africa from March 1998. The five-year contract is for the manufacturing of an estimated 11,5 million cards and is valued at R272,5 million. Face Technologies, a world leader in identification technologies, security, access control and resource management, joined forces with Thomson-CSF who represents French-based company IDMATICS, and Nkobi Holdings, represented by black-owned company Kobitech, to form Prodiba, who will be responsible for executing the contract. IDMATICS, Nkobi Holdings and Face Technologies each own an equal share in the new joint venture company. "What you see here today is the product of years of planning and, hopefully, is the solution to a number of problems my Department has encountered in re-integrating road safety management from the fragmented legacy of our past", Maharaj said in his opening address. He added that South Africa`s unacceptably high road accident and fatality rate was largely due to the high number of fraudulent licences in circulation. Estimates by the CSIR indicate that as many as one million illegal licences are in circulation in the country. The introduction of the new licence format, which includes a number of security features, aims to reduce the ease with which current documentation could be falsified or altered. In addition, the card has a five-year validity, making forgery more futile and enabling the Department to introduce additional security features in line with the continuing development of the technology. Twelve months were allowed for the implementation and preparation of the card production facility. Tony Kaleb, managing director of Ariel Technologies notes: "This sophisticated infrastructure was built on time and within budget, ensuring that we will meet the schedule specified in the contract". The contract will run for a five-year period, after which the DoT reserves the option to extend it for another five-year period or to procure the facility executing the contract. On presenting the Minister of Transport with his new licence card, Shabir Shaik, chairman of Prodiba noted that the manufacturing plant utilises highly sophisticated, first world technology supplied by IDMATICS, while Face Technologies will play a leading role in the overall technical management of the project. A key objective of the Department of Transport (DoT) and Prodiba is to ensure that the new licencing scheme facilitates black economic empowerment and provides tangible opportunities for emerging businesses. "This plant is the first of its kind in Africa, utilising biometrics (human and systems engineering) supplied by Face Technologies. Coupled with IDMATICS technology, we have boosted technical capabilities, which will empower marginalised communities through the technology transfer programme managed by Nkobi Holdings," he said. Kaleb adds: "This is the biggest joint venture undertaken by the group and one which supports empowerment in the true sense of the word". Prodiba, therefore, not only fulfills the DoT`s need to produce a technically superb product, but creates new opportunities for local people. The plant renders a central bureau service providing a card production facility for the personalisation of cards, which includes a photograph, signature and fingerprint of the licenced driver. Data Transfer Reversal (DTR) technology is used to transfer the personalised information onto the card, making it difficult to counterfeit or forge the finished product. Security features introduced into the printing process include a watermark of the king protea (the theme for the background of the card), micro printing and alternating blue and red ultra violet reflection of the proteas on the back of the card. A two dimensional barcode on the back of the card contains the personal and licence particulars of the holder, together with his or her photograph. The PDF 417 algorithm is used for this barcode and the private key for its encryption is controlled by the DoT. The plant is capable of producing 8000 cards per day, enabling it to reach the targeted 11,5 million cards over a five-year period. Once a substantial number of cards has been issued, traffic officers will be supplied with portable readers to enable licence and driver verification. The new licence complies with the SADC requirements and will allow the holder to drive in any of the 12 SADC member countries Kaleb concludes: "Ariel Technologies is fast extending its business reach into the African sub-continent. This project provides further opportunities through the provision of similar services to the SADC member countries, either by exporting the product or by establishing manufacturing plants and empowerment programmes in conjunction with local operations".
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