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CIPC denies Web site issues

Staff Writer
By Staff Writer, ITWeb
Johannesburg, 29 Sept 2014

Despite claims by the Democratic Alliance (DA) that the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission's (CIPC's) new Web site is not working as it should, the office says its "transactional Web site is working".

The DA's shadow minister of trade and industry, Geordin Hill-Lewis, claims the new Web site, meant to make starting and running a business easier, does not serve its intended purpose.

Citing unnamed users, he charges that people are unable to register new businesses online since the site launched, as it freezes as soon as new applications are submitted.

Hill-Lewis also alleges the submission process for company annual returns and company name applications works only intermittently.

In the middle of the month, the new site was launched, along with new e-service functions, and self-service centres. It said, at the time: "CIPC is modernising at a fast pace," with electronic transacting taking public service to a "new level," while the new portal would "improve query resolution and encourage migration to electronic transacting".

Yet, Hill-Lewis argues: "The Web site's non-performance has not only resulted in extended call times and queues but adds to difficulty in starting a business in South Africa, making it harder to provide jobs to millions of unemployed." He says the official opposition has received "hundreds" of complaints over the past few days from "frustrated" entrepreneurs, accountants and small business service providers who cannot access any CIPC services via the new Web site.

"With the Web site down, a number of important functions are not accessible. Critically, new businesses can't be registered online. This means new business registrations can only be done manually - a process which still takes several weeks. And with the CIPC call centre only answering 31% of calls (according to its own annual report), entrepreneurs are left with no other way of contacting the commission and getting the responses they need to begin trading."

Hill-Lewis says, as an interim measure, the CIPC should work overtime to clear the backlog until service is restored. However, the CIPC does warn on the site that it will be down, between 24 September and tomorrow morning, for scheduled maintenance.

Once this error message is ignored, the rest of the site pops up again, providing links to various services.

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