On the 3 July 2003 The Department of Communications announced the opening of the country’s pilot 112 Emergency Call Centre in Strand, outside Cape Town.

The centre is part of the government's plan to establish one standard emergency number nationwide to serve as a one-stop shop for all emergencies.

According to Jabu Radebe, the general manager of the project, a person who finds him or herself in an emergency would call the 112 emergency centre to request assistance. The agent at the centre will identify the nature of assistance needed and the location of the caller, and route the call to the respective local control centre from where assistance would be dispatched to the scene.

"The 112 centre will not dispatch any emergency resources itself, although medical experts will be on hand to deliver immediate advice if necessary," said Radebe.

He said 112 would be a toll-free number available to all citizens using fixed, mobile and data communications.

All 11 official languages would be accommodated through appropriate selection and skills of call agents, he said, adding that the project will be extended to all provinces within the next two to three years.

"The approach we are taking is to introduce the 112 services province by province. Operators will also be linked to the centre one by one. This will allow the 112 centre to sort out any technical problems associated with linking a particular operator."

The centre - which is expected to be fully operational at the end of the year - will cost approximately R50-million and occupies two floors with each level containing 158 workstations, additional office areas and employee cafeterias.

Source: www.safrica.info

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