Local driving schools that fall under the Umtshezi Ubumbano Driving School Operators Association, staged a picket outside the Estcourt Test Centre’s gates today (November 1).
They have said ‘enough is enough’ and that they are tired of the test centre’s lack of service delivery due to non-functioning and / or outdated equipment that constantly needs to be repaired. This includes the eye test machine. They say that most of the time when their learners get there for eye tests, the machine is not working and the learners end up travelling to Bergville, Mooi River and even Ladysmith to get helped.
They also claim that the centre, situated on the Loskop road, does not have a clear closing time. Sometimes it closes at 12:00, other days 13:00, or even 14:00.
Normal working conditions were disrupted at the centre as picketers blocked the gates with trucks early this morning to get the attention of the Department of Transport (DoT) and the municipality. They say they’ve been complaining about these problems for a long time, with no response.
Presenting their grievances to Mayor Mduduzi Myeza on behalf of the association, Mr Emanuel Mgoza said that money is now going to other towns because of bad service delivery. He added that this affects their business and they end up failing to pay their expenses such as rent, fuel, servicing vehicles and paying salaries. “Community members use the last of their money coming from afar to get to the centre for an eye test, only to find that the machine is not working. We have reported our problems to the centre and even directly to the DoT, but our issues have not been solved,” said Mgoza.
They have other grievances as well, including unclear road markings on routes used for driving tests, which causes their learners to fail the tests. They have asked for the pedestrian crossing near Pick n Pay to be revisited and possibly moved further up, as their learners often fail there as well. Another bone of contention is perceived staff shortages and rudeness of staff at the centre, along with the fact that instruction at the centre is only in English, which leads to some learners failing to follow instructions properly due to language barriers. Lastly, they complain about the delay in test appointments.
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Mayor Myeza said he was told that most of the centres in KZN are facing the same problems. He went on to give his assurance that the DoT will bring a new machine to Estcourt this coming week. “I wish to plead with you not to randomly decide to take things to the street. You are welcome to report issues to me and resolve problems without protests. You are welcome to come to my office; luckily, you don’t even need to make an appointment,” said Myeza.
He went on to say that the road markings will be repainted soon and the other complaints will be looked at; some of the complaints are internal and will be addressed by the municipal manager.
Estcourt SAPS, traffic police and Mooi River POP were there to monitor the situation.
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