Resident frustrated by licensing department visit

Is it a case of inefficient service delivery or misunderstanding? A local resident who recently visited the Licensing & Traffic Department in Loskop Road seems to think it is the former.

SEE THIS: Basic service delivery issues ‘fall on deaf ears’

The resident (who refused to be named for fear of being targeted)  was visibly upset when he visited the Estcourt News recently to relay the experience he had at the licensing office, repeatedly saying that the service offered there needs improvement.

At the beginning of January, the resident went to the licensing office to pay for his vehicle. During his second trip, he arrived at the office at about 2pm and stood in the queue, which extended outside the door. Minutes later, he says, one of the cashiers instructed the security guard to close the doors at 2.30pm, regardless of the number of people waiting outside.

“I quickly told the other people that we need to get inside because then they have to serve us, but when I got to the cashier, I was refused help.”

The resident was told there was a “Telkom problem”. He immediately asked to speak to a manager and after a heated
exchange of words over the phone, he arrived at the office to meet with the resident.

“When he came, he was full of excuses, passing the problem to Telkom. I don’t want excuses, I want service delivery.”
The resident was given a complaint form, which he says he won’t fill in until he has a one-on- one meeting with management.

“I want service that is a little better than it is. I am paying for this service,” he said.

The resident suggests that service delivery at the licensing centre can be improved by employing more cashiers during peak periods, finding an alternate service provider, as well as extend office hours.

“South Africa will never go forward if we have departments like this. We need professional people and ways to approach matters like these,” added the resident.

Responding to the complaint, Inkosi Langalibalele Municipal Manager Patrick Mkhize said the frustration stems
from a “misunderstanding”. Mr Mkhize explained that the eNatis system has been problematic since October last year.

“The signal is very poor or none at all. There is nothing we can do about it, as the system belongs to the Department of Transport and they provide the Internet service. We are not looking for excuses, as it is not in our control. The
Department of Transport is aware of the problems and have advised us that they are in the process of installing fibre cables, which would minimise the downtime in the service,” explained Mr Mkhize.

He says the misunderstanding stems from the resident assuming that once the doors were closed,
staff would not assist.

“The gentleman was under the wrong impression, thinking they would close the doors and he would not be helped, which is not the case. Doors were shut after all customers went into the office, in order not to get more, as the office
hours had come to an end,” he explained.

“Speaking with him and the cashiers, the story was changing and it then became a story of ‘you said, I said’. There was misunderstanding with the closure of the doors and who was to be helped,” he concluded.

SEE THIS: Absolute chaos at the traffic department

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