EMPD introduces new fine system despite ‘resistance’

The EMPD has introduced a new traffic fine management system, the Integrated Law Enforcement Management System (ILEMS).
This digital platform is expected to streamline fine management and other operations within the EMPD.

Among the changes brought by the system is introducing a new way of paying your fines.
You will no longer pay your traffic fines through the Pay City website, as was the case. You can now pay your ticket/s using the COE WhatsApp chatbot number 060 667 7177 or visit your nearest EMPD offices.

The EMPD’s transition from the old traffic fine management system, which used to be managed by a service provider, to the new digital system run by internal staff was not a smooth one.
During a media briefing on February 3, the city revealed that it had had a bumpy transition to the new system – with a journey mired in resistance and controversy.

Management believes that there were internal and external individuals who were hell-bent on derailing the city from realising its Smart City vision.
However, the vision of introducing the digitalised EMPD system was not completely lost.

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Non-functional
Information recently leaked to the media suggested that the EMPD had been unable to issue and process traffic fines since the expiration of the road safety and fine management service provider’s contract on September 30,
However, during the media briefing, the metro rejected this claim, saying it used internal resources to capture and process fines since the expiration of the contract with the service provider, Syntell.
Here is how it all unfolded
Addressing the media, the city’s chief information officer, Moloko Monyepao, said the city had informed Syntell over the years that it was working towards introducing a digital system that would see the city take over from the Syntell, which had been awarded the contract back to back.

However, when it was time for the metro to take over and transition to its new system, it encountered resistance from Syntell.

This was then followed by a long tussle that made it difficult for the city to introduce a fully functioning system.
“They withheld the data and we only received it in December after bringing our legal department on board to issue them with notices to leave our environment so that we could take over,” Monyepao said.
Launched
The city claimed that despite all the challenges, it eventually took over towards the end of December and launched the ILEMS in January.

This new system involves the adoption of digital technologies that have the potential to bolster service delivery and save taxpayers billions of rand.
Management said one of the things they noticed initially when they decided to take this route was the high cost of using service providers or consultants for some of its services, which can be better managed using internal resources. These included the EMPD traffic fines system.

Responding to questions about what happened to the fines issued by officers between October 1 and December 30, Monyepao said the city believes that they form part of the data received from Syntell because the contractor was still occupying the space and processing fines during the period in question.
“We are still analysing the data and we expect to get all the fines issued in this period, as well as manage old fines that are outstanding.”

City manager Dr Imogen Mashazi and EMPD acting chief Julius Mkhwanazi assured residents that despite all the setbacks, the city is committed to digitalising the department and see to it that it’s fully equipped with modern tools, such as body-worn cameras, surveillance cameras, biometric systems and licence plate recognition systems.

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