Licensing department still under fire
Reports of rude staff and incompetency have poured in
THE Herald has been inundated with complaints about the Port Shepstone licensing department since its front page story published last week.
Many of the letters received highlighted the rude attitude of the staff at the centre.
A Uvongo pensioner wrote that she had wasted petrol money to go back and forth, on four different occasions, to renew her driver’s licence, only to be told that her fingerprints were invalid and not acceptable.
“Many pensioners seem to receive the same treatment. We spend endless time in a crowded office, standing. No chairs are available as the small office is packed with people applying for their learner’s licences,” she said.
Another Herald reader said the attitude of staff at the centre was ‘abusive and abrupt’, and he had witnessed a man who was a bit hard of hearing being spoken to in an abusive manner.
“Lots of stories about mislaid documents or lost licences in the system scare those of us who rely on our licences for our daily business,” he said.
Another reader echoed these sentiments, saying that traffic officials had mislaid documents and then demanded payment for the new documents and photos. “I am convinced that these lost official documents are used for criminal activity,” she said.
In response, Hibiscus Coast Municipality (HCM) spokesman, Simon Soboyisa, said the increasing number of complaints about the licensing section were not going unnoticed. He added this had been discussed at senior management level and that investigations into the allegations were under way.
He said that HCM strongly believed in Batho Pele principals and condemned any ill-treatment of members of the public when requiring services from any department or section.
“We also encourage courtesy in treating customers, especially senior citizens and those living with disabilities,” he added.
He said its customer care and stakeholder relations section had been conducting workshops within the municipality to ensure that everyone understood these principles.
Mr Soboyisa said that HCM was in the process of ensuring that each employee who works at the front desk has a name tag to ensure that he or she can easily be identified, especially when there are complaints or compliments about the manner in which they treat customers.
Members of the public who feel they are being badly treated are asked to report this to a supervisor on duty or to call the HOD of Community Services at 039 3159203.
I went to go to apply for my learners as I arrived I had to stand for 3 hours as the que was very long just to get told when I get to the front no I need a copy of my id document nobody else in the same que in front of me had and also applied for their learners license; I was told I will not be assisted until I have a copy of my ID so I had to go and make copies 4 blocks away from their offices so when I eventually got back and had to go and stand in the que again and got to the front I was told to go and wait in another que to get a booking date when I got there the lady in the small back office I think her name was mumsy I think was fast asleep on her keyboard and still had the inprints on her forehead I had to take a whole day off for this and was handled very rudely they also let people push into the que infront of you and when you complain you get told its not their problem wait in the que.
I went on Tuesday this week to see if my renwal of my dri ers had arrived yet..went to the inquary desk, the lady asked me for my I’d number, so gave her my I’d book.. She pushed it back and said read it to me..said excuse me.. Don’t u need to see my I’d book as well.. And pushed it back.. She refused to look at it or look at my I’d number until I ended up having to read it out.. She then took out 5 pages of renwal cards and past mine 4 times.. I stated to her that one if she can not read she should not be working there.. And two if she had looked at my I’d book or at me once she would not have past by my card 4 times.. I then had to sign in pencial stating I received it.. Who and what company signs in pencial.. I find the staff very rude and not wanting to be there..
I was hoping some one could give me some advice on my situation Im in Australia and I have lost my License, I was advised to contact the Road Traffic Corp in Pretoria in order for them to send me a letter of confirmation. I called up, I provided my SA ID and the could only find my SA learners license that had been done in Port Shepstone and not my full license, he said im currently not registered as a South African driver, I told him I had completed it 2 months after my learners back in 2009 in Port Shepstone but he said there is nothing he can do as it is not on the system. Im worried they have lost my information and now I will have to start from the beginning! And in Australia it takes up to 4 years to complete the full license….