Opposition parties on Friday demanded answers on the troubled electronic national traffic information system (eNaTIS), following allegations the Auditor General had warned of problems before the system was introduced.
The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) said it has urgently tabled questions in Parliament to Transport Minister Jeff Radebe, following media reports that revealed that the Auditor General had warned the government in December about shortcomings in eNaTIS, said MP Koos van der Merwe, the IFP’s chief whip.
“We have been keeping a close eye on the crisis that has unfolded over the past four weeks relating to eNaTIS … that has cost government and the tax payer a staggering R408-million,” said Van der Merwe.
“The IFP is alarmed by reports that Minister Radebe had been warned by the Auditor General that the system was doomed for failure. In fact, the Auditor General stated in his final report in February of this year that he was 80% sure that the system was going to fail. But despite this warning, they still went ahead with implementation, which is totally unacceptable.”
The IFP will ask the minister about the tender process and shareholders of Tasima, which developed the system.
The Democratic Alliance complained that officials at Gauteng vehicle-licensing centres are now forbidden to talk to journalists or elected public representatives.
“Whereas before, licensing officials talked freely about the problems they were experiencing with eNaTIS, now they are refusing to talk, and are obviously in fear for their jobs,” said MPL James Swart, the party’s Gauteng spokesperson on transport.
“This leads to the obvious question: If eNaTIS is working at 95% efficiency as claimed by transport officials, why is nobody allowed to actually see the system in operation?”
Swart said Radebe and the Gauteng transport minister need to fix the situation. “The department is on the ropes and its credibility is in shreds.”
Beeld reported on Friday that Radebe and the Department of Transport were told in December last year that eNaTIS would be an “embarrassment” for the country unless the minister took action — but even after a report containing shocking findings by the Auditor General was handed to the department in February, the system was still implemented in one fell swoop.
Neither Radebe nor his department made the report public or ever referred to it.
Licensing and testing stations across the country have been severely disrupted in the past month as eNaTIS has either broken down completely or led to very slow processing of transactions. Long queues outside such stations have angered members of the public and the motor industry (which has reportedly lost millions of rands) alike.
According to Beeld, the Auditor General found 19 of 24 aspects of eNaTIS to be “high risk”, including cost, risk management, the 18- to 20-month delay in implementing it, skills transfer, and a lack of human resources during its development.
Its report also warned that fraudulent or criminal activities could take place on the system without anyone realising it timeously.