Chaos continues at licence stations

19/01/2015. People wait in queues for hours at Waltloo licencing department. Picture: David Scholfield

19/01/2015. People wait in queues for hours at Waltloo licencing department. Picture: David Scholfield

Published Jan 20, 2015

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Pretoria - Despite promises that order would be restored at licensing department outlets around Pretoria once the holidays were over, people needing to renew their licences or pay for their discs are still having to wait many hours in long queues.

The Waltloo and Centurion licensing offices have been chaotic, with patrons having to spend hours in queues without receiving help.

While both licensing departments open at 8am, Tshwane residents began lining up at about 6am hoping to be served early. However, some people had spent more than six hours at the Centurion offices before they could be helped.

On Monday the Tshwane Traffic Department said it was not experiencing any problems, saying that things were operating normally and there were no issues.

However, Collins Tshoane said he arrived at the Waltloo offices at 7am to renew his professional driving permit. He was still waiting in a snaking queue outside the offices five hours later.

“I am from Mamelodi Extension 6, which isn’t very far from here,” he said. “I got here at about 7am and nothing has been done. I have just been standing and waiting in this queue and it’s noon now,” he said.

Tshoane said he even went to get a medical form completed which was given to him by an official, came back after 40 minutes, and the line had barely moved.

“They take groups of 10-15 people every hour so it doesn’t make much of a difference,” he said.

‘SERVICE IS APPALLING ‘

Jennie Fourie said she arrived at Waltloo station at 8am and said the first group of people only moved into the station at 9am.

“There was a period when the line didn’t move for about an hour and a half. The service here is appalling,” she said.

Fourie, like many others, complained about the attitude that was displayed to them by the staff, saying they would send security guards, who they could not question, to relay messages to them.

What irked Fourie the most was that the queue accommodated people with different needs, which according to her, made little sense.

“They should have separate lines, that would help to reduce the congestion and it would be convenient for everybody who came here,” she said.

An 80-year-old pensioner at the Centurion Licensing Department echoed Fourie’s comment, saying it was unfair for pensioners to be kept waiting for long periods.

“Some people are working and had to take the day off,“ said the pensioner, who declined to be identified.

“Some people woke up early to be here. What must happen to those people when the lines are cut off? As for us as pensioners, we cannot be waiting for such a long time. They should at least provide us with chairs,”

Tshwane Metro Police spokesman Senior Superintendent Isaac Mahamba conceded that there were obstacles hampering faster service delivery.

“For one, you must understand that renewing a licence is a long process where one person can take as long as 20 minutes for an eye test, but the city is looking into improving services at licensing departments,” he said.

Pretoria News

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