Complaints from members of the public have been pouring in regarding the sloppy and at times hostile behaviour by staff at licensing centres across Gauteng who appear not to be back at work.
At least four centres in the province, Centurion, Midrand, Watloo and Randburg, have experienced queues backed up for hours due to poor communication from the centres’ staff.
Although Monday 5 January 2015 was identified as the first working day of the new year, preparation was not made to receive licence applications. Various excuses were provided, ranging from the premises having to be cleaned to unexpected volumes of applicants.
At Centurion, members of the public were left to queue for hours, only to be informed that they would not be served.
This “couldn’t-care-less” attitude was experienced at several other centres. In addition, serious allegations of corrupt practices whereby individuals offer to help members of the public jump queues for a fee have also been reported.
Licensing centres are the responsibility of the Gauteng Provincial Government. Citizens expect the authorities to intervene and resolve the unnecessary logjams which have inexplicably occurred.
If staff are incapable of managing this important service, steps should be taken to replace them with individuals who can do so.
Gauteng MEC for Roads and Transport, Ismail Vadi, must intervene immediately and ensure that this indispensable service runs optimally.
Media enquiries:
Justus de Goede MPL
DA Gauteng spokesperson on transport
060 558 8305