The eNatis fiasco is the clearest example of bureaucratic inefficiency I have seen in a long time. It shows that a lack of skilled personnel can hamper local, provincial and national service delivery.

The eNatis fiasco is the clearest example of bureaucratic inefficiency I have seen in a long time. It shows that a lack of skilled personnel can hamper local, provincial and national service delivery.

The system must have taken some planning. There must have been some process to tender and to set up the equipment. Someone, somewhere must have gone to the various centres to train the staff.

This just didn't happen overnight, so why the inefficiency and the queues?

The most obvious answer is that the centre personnel are overwhelmed. They need time to learn the system, but they haven't had the chance or perhaps even the expert training. It is like askingthe average man to fly a jumbo jet when he has only been trained to ride a bicycle.

The shortage of skilled personnel is the next biggest threat to our economy after a lack of jobs.

But there is nothing beyond political will and a change in tactics that prevents on-the-job training, especially in what are perceived as blue-collar fields such as bricklaying and plumbing. The same applies in going back to an education system that gives prestige to apprentices, especially if they encourage service delivery and ultimately economic growth.

Brian Goodall,

DA spokesman on job creation

Gauteng