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.
