Pretoria - Transport Minister Dipuo Peters is taking legal counsel to compel Tasima to transfer eNatis services to the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC).
In a statement on Monday, Minister Peters said she is taking legal counsel to compel Tasima to comply with the Constitutional Court decision handed down on 9 November 2016.
The court found that the extension to the contract to Tasima was granted in contravention of the Constitution, the Public Finance Management Act and Treasury Regulations.
Tasima is the company originally contracted to manage the Electronic National Administration Traffic Information System (eNatis), which processes transactions such as vehicle licensing and driver’s licences and stores the data.
“We remain resilient, undeterred and resolute in our commitment and we will waste no time and leave no stone unturned in the fight to reclaim the system, ever informed by the patriotism and supreme love to serve our country in ensuring that the RTMC undertakes its mandate to execute and discharge its function in the best interest of all South Africans,” said Minister Peters.
The court granted the RTMC leave to terminate the illegal and irregular extension of the contract and Tasima was ordered to hand over the running of the eNatis and associated services to the RTMC within 30 days of the court decision.
The court decision also granted the Department of Transport leave to approach the court should Tasima commit any act intended to deliberately delay or frustrate the transfer process.
The Minister further said that government will not “sleep nor slumber in getting what is legally a government system”. The RTMC has been ready since 3 May 2015 to administer eNatis.
“Their state of readiness has unreasonably been delayed and denied by Tasima, employing tactics informed by their desire to syphon money from the State.
“The court decision was a reconfirmation and a vindication that the Department of Transport and the RTMC are competent enough and ready to execute their mandate without the involvement of third parties,” Minister Peters said.
In a similar circumstance that involved the production of driving licence cards, the Department of Transport is producing and managing the driving licence system in-house, without the involvement of a third party.
“This is one illustration that government has the capacity, capabilities and dedicated men and women who are committed to serve the people of South Africa,” said Minister Peters.
Regarding Tasima’s refusal to vacate the eNatis offices, Minister Peters has engaged the Minister of Police to invoke the provisions of the Critical Infrastructure Legislation that provide for the determination and declaration of Critical Infrastructure, which ensures that security measures are implemented at Critical Infrastructure points.
eNatis offices and related services are declared Critical Infrastructure, and categorised in the Critical Infrastructure Legislation.
It is within this context that Minister Peters believes that Tasima is unlawfully occupying a key point facility, which hosts high-tech equipment containing critical traffic management services and data. – SAnews.gov.za
