The Department of Communications and Digital Technologies has called on the Independent Communication Authority of South Africa (Icasa) to phase out several emergency telephone numbers.
The department said that it has proposed that the following lines be cut:
- SAPS hotline - 10111
- Medical emergency line - 10177
- Emergency, fire, rescue, ambulance line - 107
The department said that only one emergency number should remain in SA and that is 112.
“Even though no public 112 Emergency Centre was established, electronic communications network service licensees use their own communication centres where the 112 emergency numbers is routed to, which others use Automatic Voice Response to route the call to the relevant destination,” the department explained.
10111 call centre in a shambles
The 10111 number was created in 2007 and was meant to bridge the gap between victims of crime and the police.
The call centres were created to ensure fast and efficient response from law enforcement and emergency services.
The main command centre operates from Midrand in Gauteng and built at a cost of R600 million.
Over the years, the call centre has needed upgrades and adequate staff.
Due to these failures, it has elicited dissatisfaction from communities across the country, forcing many to depend either on private response services or illegal formations to keep themselves safe.
Down for a whole week
In January, the emergency helpline was down for an entire week.
Police confirmed that their communication system had been down for over six days.
Action Society activist Ian Cameron said at the time that when one calls the emergency number, the operator will answer, but had no way of communicating with the police stations.
Government is trying to address the issues
In September, Deputy Minister for the Public Service and Administration, Pinky Kekana, conducted a site visit to the command Centre.
The inspection aimed to monitor service delivery, address challenges, and facilitate improvements and innovation.
“There’s an outcry from communities about the levels of service they are receiving from government,” said the deputy minister.
Kekana expressed particular interest in the complaints management aspects of the emergency 10111 command centre, aiming to explore areas of integration with similar call centres, such as the Presidential Hotline.
She said that her department was trying to push more integration and drive programmes that are complementary in order to service South Africans.
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