Traffic system still has shakes
2007-04-17 21:31
Pretoria - Hours after transport minister Jeff Radebe gave the upgraded transport information system the "all clear" on Tuesday, vehicle testing and licensing stations in Johannesburg and Pretoria still were not up and running.
The new service was electronic and meant traffic-related transactions could be done through automated-teller machines (ATMs) and the internet.
Radebe gave the system the "all clear" at a launch in Midrand on Tuesday.
"There is no reason that members of the public cannot go to the dedicated sites," he said.
However, Tshwane metro spokesperson Alta Fourie said the system was going on and off.
"It starts and then goes off. So, all our drive-through centres will be closed for the whole week to avoid traffic problems," she said on Tuesday.
Public asked to be patient
Technicians were attending to the problems, but she did not know when the system would be up and running again.
In Johannesburg, metro chief superintendent Wayne Minnaar said: "No learner's licences, no driver's licences, no renewals."
He called on the public to be patient.
"The stations are experiencing technical problems. We don't know when the problem will be fixed, but technicians are working on it," he said.
Telephones at the Johannesburg, Randburg, Sandton and Roodepoort centres were either engaged or not answered.
The national department of transport however said the upgraded and computerised system was up and running.
Spokesperson Ntau Letebele said they were "back on online".
"Where there are technical problems, our technicians are working on those," he said.
Aims to reduce corruption
Vehicle-testing stations, vehicle- registering authorities and driver's licence testing centres were closed last week for the upgrading of the old national transport information system (Natis) to the new eNatis one.
It was intended to prevent driving schools from making block bookings, which often had prevented individuals from making appointments.
It also aimed to reduce corruption by making it impossible for examiners to see the list of applicants, and vice versa.
- SAPA