Smart cards go political

Johannesburg, 02 Feb 2000

The planned Home Affairs National Identification System (Hanis) seems likely to become a political football. The Democratic Party has criticised the massive project, saying it is illogical and expensive.

Mangosuthu Buthelezi, minister of Home Affairs, officially launched the system earlier this week, and confirmed that a supply contract had been signed with MarPless Telecommunications Technologies in November last year. MarPless was awarded what was then a R800 million contract almost one year ago.

"It has always been my intention to provide our citizens with this multiple application system that will be able to play a vital role in the fight to eliminate fraud and corruption inherent in certain sections of our daily lives," Buthelezi said in his speech at the launch.

But the Democratic Party has issued a strongly worded statement pointing out what it calls "significant cost implications for the taxpayer". The party did not comment on the technology basis of the system, but described the project as ludicrous because of Home Affairs administration. "At the moment, Home Affairs cannot even process ID applications properly. How on earth is it possibly going to administer the 'smart card` system?" the statement reads.

Buthelezi says senior citizens will receive the first cards, which are expected to be issued in the last quarter of 2001. The procurement process, he says, is being finalised, and a Hanis interdepartmental technical committee is being formed.

Although it has not been determined if drivers licence information will be incorporated into the cards, Home Affairs plans to make it ATM compatible. Buthelezi says the Department of Welfare will be able to produce updated monthly pension runs and senior citizens will be able to use the cards for cash withdrawals directly from ATMs. "The card`s user friendliness will be compatible to all other cards which are being used by citizens for normal day-to-day transactions."

MarPless, formed as a joint venture between Plessey South Africa and Marubeni Corporation in 1993, will be the main contractor for the project.