South Africans will soon be able to renew their vehicle licenses online. This is according to Tebogo Mphuti, the CEO of Tasima, the company behind the eNaTIS technology.
At a press conference held in Midrand this morning, Mphuti revealed the progress that Tasima has made towards “getting rid of paper” in the country’s driver testing and licensing processes.
Tasima has developed a wide range of functions in the eNaTIS system which will handle almost every step of the licensing process, from online registration for learner’s tests, to printing drivers license cards and vehicle license disks.
They have also developed a touchscreen based electronic learners license test which the company hopes will see the elimination of license fraud which has been so endemic in this sector. The pilot phase on this project is ready to be rolled out with two test stations in each of South Africa’s nine provinces. If it is successful, the electronic testing will be extended to all drivers license testing stations in the country.
Additionally, Tasima has equipped fully independent trucks which each house 20 of the electronic testing stations. These are intended to be driven out to rural schools in areas which lack the infrastructure required for the building of a permanent testing station. Pupils can do their learner’s test in the truck and it can be printed on the spot if they pass.
All the tests are controlled by the eNaTIS system which automatically collates test scores and records whether or not a candidate has passed on the national system.
Other projects which Tasima is currently working on include incorporating the controversial AARTO system, which will see drivers earn demerits for minor traffic infringements, into eNaTIS, and creating a system for taxi permits.
Future projects which are in the pipeline include online vehicle license renewal on the eNaTIS site or at an ATM. Mphuti says this project should be available by the end of the year. eNaTIS will also roll-out SMS renewal notices and hand-held eNaTIS enabled devices for Metro Police to do road-side vehicle and driver checks.
Although he was not willing to commit to a time-frame for when these projects would be available, Mphuti says we can expect them “soon”, but will have to wait for the correct legal framework to be established in each province before these projects can see widespread adoption.
Apart from regulatory challenges, Mphuti says that Tasima’s greatest challenge with providing electronic solutions to the licensing stations is the theft of computers, printers and copper cables. However, they have taken every measure they can in a n effort to make the implementation of eNaTIS as easy and reliable as possible.
Angela Meadon
