Mthobisi Nozulela|Published
Motorists at some Johannesburg licensing centres have faced service disruptions following the expiry of a service-provider contract, leaving them unable to process certain transactions.
In an interview with 702, the city’s MMC for Public Safety, Moshe Koma, said the disruption stemmed from an expired contract with a service provider responsible for supporting licensing operations.
The agreement lapsed in early September, but the replacement contract had not yet taken effect, affecting services at Langlaagte, with reports of similar problems at Midrand and Waterfall Office Park.
Koma said the matter involved the city’s group ICT department and that interventions were underway to restore services, while the timing of the new contract’s award remained uncertain.
Contract expiry disrupts licensing services
"We have a contract problem. It's not necessarily us running out of resources. The contract has elapsed, and ordinarily a new one should be kicking in," he said.
"However, because this is a city problem, it belongs to the Johannesburg municipality as a whole in terms of ICT. So, it's not only public safety. It involves even the city's department."
Koma said the disruption stemmed from contractual issues at the city’s ICT department, which is responsible for managing the relevant systems across the municipality.
He said the previous service provider had been expected to continue supporting the city until the new contract took effect, but this did not happen as anticipated.
Koma acknowledged that the matter fell within the city’s administrative and procurement structures but did not provide details on how the contract had been allowed to lapse.
“It’s at the procurement level of the city,” he said, adding that the municipality’s ICT structures were responsible for the process. He said the administration had intervened to restore services and expected the affected systems to be fully operational by Monday, 13 October.
Koma also said he and the department’s head had recommended that the replacement contract include contingency measures to prevent similar disruptions in future. Motorists are advised to confirm with their licensing centres that services are available before travelling.
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