Frustration continued to reign at Johannesburg’s Langlaagte testing and licensing station on Wednesday as the new transport electronic system (eNaTIS) kept on crashing. Some motorists queuing since dawn said they had been coming to the station since last month.
Bongi Kubheka from Hillbrow had been struggling since April 16 to write her learner’s-licence test. She said she had been coming to the station from as early as 5am, only to be told that the system was offline and she should return the next day.
”These people are arrogant. I’ve been here since early in the morning, but I have not been helped,” Kubheka said just before 4pm, adding she would return to the station on Thursday.
Nuruneasa Adams was more fortunate as she left the station with her learner’s licence. Her three-day wait paid off when she was helped at about 3.15pm.
Adams (21) had a few suggestions for the traffic authorities. ”I would like them to make a system that would allow us do everything online. They must also let us fax the forms through,” she said. ”Right now the system is corrupt and completely chaotic.”
‘Freezing’ system
The station was closed when the South African Press Association arrived at the station on Wednesday afternoon. At least 20 people, including Thabiso Netshakuma, were still queuing inside hoping to get help.
”I have already booked a date to write my learner’s test. I was given five days to pay or I’ll lose the spot,” said Netshakuma, who had been queuing at the station since Monday, adding there were some regular faces in the line. ”I don’t know if I’ll get help today [Wednesday]. But I have not lost hope.”
An employee at the station who refused to give her name said it had a big problem as no one accepted responsibility for the constant ”freezing” of the system.
”Everyone is shifting the blaming. Telkom is blaming eNaTIS people and eNaTIS people are blaming Telkom,” said the employee. ”That puts us in a very difficult position as people are becoming impatient.”
Station manager Tata Mabiya refused to comment and referred questions to Johannesburg metro police spokesperson Chief Superintendent Wayne Minnaar. Mabiya was overheard telling another man that the station had a ”big problem”.
Minnaar also shifted the blame to the national Transport Department. ”The system is still slow … the department deals with the technical side; we only deal with the issuing of licences and vehicle registration.”
He said that at the Randburg station, a crowd of people who had been waiting in the queue became rowdy on Wednesday. ”They shouted and started hitting the doors,” Minnaar said.
Metro police were deployed at the scene to calm the crowd. No one was injured.
The Transport Department was not immediately available for comment. — Sapa