eNatis blame game starts

By Candice Jones for Telkom
Johannesburg, 16 May 2007

Finger-pointing surrounding problems plaguing government's R408 million electronic National Traffic Information System (eNatis) project has begun, with the Department of Transport reportedly blaming Telkom for a recent operational problem.

Yesterday, the testing site at Langlaagte experienced delays and operational problems, which culminated in threats by irate members of the public to break down the doors.

The Johannesburg Metro police confirm they were called to the testing site because of a disturbance caused by the public. "A group of people threatened to damage property, and the Metro police had to deploy officers to monitor the situation," says Metro police spokesman, Chief Superintendent Wayne Minnaar.

The Department of Transport says the Langlaagte testing site opened late due to a technical problem with the digital telephone line, which brings eNatis online.

Spokesman Collen Msibi says the testing site had to fall back on an old analogue line, which processes transactions more slowly. Moving to a new line took time, and the test site only opened at half-past-ten, he says.

Scapegoat

Telkom was unable to provide comment at the time of publication. However, a source close to the eNatis process denies it was a telephone line-related problem, which caused problems at the Langlaagte testing station. "The Department of Transport is using Telkom as a scapegoat; they are now trying to reach for any flimsy excuse for their problems."

He adds that the two institutions have ongoing discussions and Telkom has asked the Department of Transport to refrain from using Telkom as an excuse for its problems. "That behaviour is unbecoming."

However, the Department of Transport stands by its position that it was a Telkom technical problem that brought eNatis offline yesterday.

"I don't know who you spoke to and where your source got his information, but the problems yesterday were caused by a digital telephone line failing. I have spoken to Telkom and they assured us they will treat availability of lines as a priority matter," says the Transport Department's Msibi.

He insists eNatis is working well at other testing sites, and the Langlaagte situation was an isolated incident. The system is working at 90% to 95% efficiency this week, aiming for 100% efficiency by the end of the month, he says.

Zero tolerance

Msibi adds that government will not tolerate unruly behaviour from irate members of the public, even though they can understand the frustration they experience when there are technical problems with eNatis. "People must understand there are technical issues that are beyond eNatis."

Minnaar says the Metro police have no plans to deploy officers to the Langlaagte testing station today. However, it has adopted a "wait and watch" position to the situation and will deploy officers if the situation warrants it.

"People are impatient and distraught. Standing in the sun to wait is wrong and can make people angry," he says, adding that motorists who have not renewed their licences will not be penalised until the eNatis situation is resolved.

The latest eNatis problems come after transport minister Jeff Radebe apologised to South Africans last week for the inconvenience caused by eNatis and assured the public that the system will be running smoothly as of this week.