The Department of Transport has extended its contract with electronic National Traffic Information System (eNatis) developer Tasima.
Newly-appointed CEO of the business, Tebogo Mphuthi, says the value of the five-year deal is impossible to calculate, since each transaction made across the system determines how much the department will be expected to pay.
The traffic system had a troubled start when it first got off the ground in 2007, with developers underestimating the server requirements and connectivity needs. A few weeks after it officially got off the ground, Tasima had to double the system's server capacity.
The service has since had a bad reputation, with downtime at licensing centres blamed on the solution. However, Mphuthi says that is now a thing of the past. He adds that the system is one of the most sophisticated technology networks in SA.
According to Mphuthi, the earlier downtime troubles are now “virtually non-existent” and all maintenance on the system is completed after office hours. “Total uptime is 99.99% and, during office hours, it is up practically 100% of the time,” he explains.
At a cursory level, eNatis essentially handles the registration of cars and bookings of learners' and drivers' tests at various licensing and testing stations across the country. Mphuthi says the service is in the process of being extended and may well handle other transport-related services, like online fine payment and the ability to renew drivers' licences online.
The initial contract between the department and Tasima expired in 2008, and both parties have been working on the project on a month-to-month basis.
High-roller
Tasima was established through a public-private partnership, specifically for the implementation of the eNatis system. However, Mphuthi has bigger plans for the company.
He hopes to grow the firm to rival the large IT businesses in SA, like GijimaAst and T-Systems. “We want to challenge the high-rollers,” he adds. Tasima will, for the time being, focus on gaining more government contracts, since that is where its experience is.
He says there is no reason why a similar system to eNatis cannot be implemented for state-owned services like the Companies and Intellectual Property Registration Office, or for other services citizens need to access.
Mphuthi says Tasima will also use its skills to branch out into the private sector at a later stage.
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