A French firm with offices in South Africa is being slapped with a claim of R39 million in damages amid a fallout with a local company over a R115 million Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) biometrics tender.

INFOVERGE, the company behind the claim, is suing IDEMIA - the main contractor to ACSA after it was left out of the project following IDEMIA's successful bid.

An IOL investigation detailed how a French company, IDEMIA, had clinched the ACSA tender worth R115 million for a biometric system across South African airports, with the provision that INFOVERGE as a local BEE partner would be given 30% of the work.

IDEMIA had won the ACSA contract with the provision that 30% of the work would go to a local BEE service provider - and had entered into a written agreement with INFOVERGE to be that provider as part of the tender process.

However, INFOVERGE claims it was excluded from the project by IDEMIA two months after the tender was clinched. It accused IDEMIA of using it for its BEE status to win the ACSA tender and rejected claims its exclusion was over a pricing dispute.

INFOVERGE called on ACSA to cancel the contract as the BEE criteria was not fulfilled as part of the tender requirement and also turned to the courts to challenge the contract awarded to IDEMIA.

ACSA initially called it a dispute amongst the two parties which had nothing to do with ACSA and said there was nothing wrong with the procurement process. IDEMIA agreed with this and said the allegations would be tested in court.

However, following the IOL revelations, ACSA did an about-turn and announced the sudden suspension of its Chief Information Officer amid what it called 'prima facie' evidence of alleged wrongdoing in the tender process. It also terminated the contract with IDEMIA saying it would restart a new tender process.

"We've withdrawn the case as we were advised it had achieved the objectives of Access to Information and the tender to be set aside," INFOVERGE CEO, Musa Mahlaba told IOL.

INFOVERGE is now suing IDEMIA over its 30% loss from the R115 million contract.

The debacle has also prompted the Department of Transport to step in, calling on the state Auditor General to audit the controversial tender involving IDEMIA.

This is a developing story.

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French firm Idemia hit with R39 million damages claim over Acsa biometrics tender