Takeover of eNatis smooth, says minister
The Road Traffic Management Corporation has now taken over much of the operations of eNatis. But the takeover was not without drama as Tasima, the former operator, again tried to institute another legal process in its bid to stop the transfer.
The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) has now taken over much of the operation of the electronic National Traffic Information System (eNatis).
But the takeover was not without drama.
Tasima, the former operator of eNatis again tried to institute a legal process in its bid to stop the transfer.
It said it was approaching the Supreme Court of Appeal directly for a hearing. This was after the High Court in Pretoria threw out its application for leave to appeal against its earlier decision to hand the system to the RTMC within 24 hours.
Transport Minister Joe Maswanganyi on Thursday briefed staff members on the system, saying the takeover was progressing smoothly despite warnings from Tasima that “chaos” could ensure.
The RTMC began the takeover process on Wednesday, saying the system was only down for a not-unexpected 30 minutes on Wednesday night, but there were no major problems and eNatis was secure.
On Monday, the high court ordered Tasima to immediately hand over control of eNatis and its services to the RTMC, which prompted the sheriff to move to immediately enforce the court order.
The company was also ordered to vacate the premises from where the system was being operated.
However, Tasima’s application for leave to appeal against the high court order was dismissed and RTMC officials immediately moved into Tasima’s premises in Midrand.
“This is unlawful, self-help spoliation and constructive contempt by RTMC,” Tasima said.
The government believed legal channels over the issue were now exhausted.
Department of Transport acting director-general Pule Selepe said that the government now expected to save about R20m a month — out of a R34m a month payment to Tasima and its calculation of continuing expenses of R14m.