Traffic system fails to operate
The new operating system installed at the Department of Road Traffic and Safety Services (DRTSS) cannot read information from the previous software, Weekend Nation has established.
Government had set May 11 2015 as the official rollout date for the new system but officials at DRTSS in Blantyre said they had managed to issue only three certificates of fitness (CoFs) and one drivers’ licence before the collapse of the new system on 24 April 2015.
The only thing the new system can produce is a traffic registration card, according to officials at DRTSS in Blantyre.
Minister of Transport and Public Works Francis Kasaila said recently that government had installed the new system to prevent DRTSS staff from engaging in corrupt practices as well as respond to the changes in technology.
But he admitted in an interview on Thursday that the system could not produce results and experts have been hired from South Africa to sort out the problem.
“I’m aware that new software cannot read information from the previous system. Government has since hired a South African-based company to resolve the problem,” he said.
Scores of impatient motorists have been seen loitering at DRTSS offices in Blantyre during the week as they waited for the IT experts to resolve the problem.
The frustrated motorists said they cancelled crucial engagements to camp at the DRTSS offices in anticipation that the system would start working.
“I’ve been coming here for two weeks without being assisted. This has cost me a lot of business,” said a woman who only identified herself as Mrs. Banda.
Kasaila could not say when the problem will be resolved.
“I can’t guarantee motorists on how soon this problem will be resolved because it’s not up to us to deal with that,” he said.
But a senior official at DRTSS in Blantyre, who declined to be named as he is not mandated to speak on behalf of the body, said the new operating system collapsed on 24 April.
He said government needed to consider a gradual transition from the old system to avoid inconveniencing motorists.
“Everything has ground to a halt. Motorists have been inconvinienced. This is unfair and we sympathise with them,” said the official.
