City in the dark over possible eNatis collapse

THE Electronic National Traffic Information System (eNatis) is on the brink of collapse. Without it, vehicles cannot be registered, licences cannot be renewed, and police cannot verify whether a vehicle is stolen.

“It would be a national crisis if this happened,” said Simon Zwane, spokesperson for the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC).

Telkom is owed R8 million for services rendered to eNatis and yesterday the telecoms provider terminated its service to all landlines at the eNatis headquarters. On Monday, it will terminate all data services.

At the root of the possible crisis is a tug-of-war between the RTMC and the Department of Transport and eNatis service provider, Tasima.

In November, the Constitutional Court declared the contract with Tasima had been unlawful since 2015. The court ordered it to hand over eNatis to RTMC within 30 days unless an alternative transfer management plan could be reached.

The department and RTMC now want Tasima to vacate its operational premises at Waterfall City, Midrand and hand over all data and equipment. It intends asking the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, on Tuesday to evict Tasima.

Telkom threatened to cut all lines connecting eNatis unless it was paid R8m by yesterday afternoon.

Advocate Etienne Labuschagne said the transport department could not pay Telkom unless Tasima immediately relinquished eNatis.

But Tasima said that until November, the department paid eNatis’s expenses, including Telkom. In a counter-application, it asked the high court for an order that the department settle the outstanding R8m.

Judge Hans Fabricius said it was impossible to resolve the issues urgently as the papers ran to 600 pages. The judge struck the matter from the roll and ordered that the parties speak to Deputy Judge President Aubrey Ledwaba, who told them to return on Wednesday.

But lawyers for the transport department received notice from Telkom that it had already cut the phone lines and that the data would follow on Monday.

Meanwhile, Cape Town officials could not confirm last night how a possible collapse of eNatis would affect the province.

Siphesihle Dube, spokesperson for MEC for Transport and Public Works Donald Grant, said they did not have sufficient information to comment.

Mayoral committee member for Finance Johan van der Merwe said that his department was only responsible for fines. – Additional reporting by Asanda Sokanyile