NOT IMPRESSED THE HASSLE OF RENEWING A DRIVER’S LICENSE [Letter to the editor] 

Sometimes there is a big gap between intensions and reality… On a glass door at the Thabazimbi Traffic Office a big poster boasts the transformation to service delivery, but on 31 March 2021, reality differed. 
On arrival, we saw no notice board or any form of direction. We sought help at the building on the left but were rudely directed to the other building to be sanitised, yet – still no information. 
At the other building we saw helpfulness, the appropriate forms, and some direction about the rest of the process. The waiting game had finally begun.
We saw a long queue – both inside and outside the building. After 30 minutes, I was called for the eye test, but immediately waved back again, losing my chair in the process. After another 10 minutes, I was called again. 
I saw the testing machines but was never verbally instructed as to their use and what was expected of me, only hand signs. A member of the public came to my assistance and yet another waved me to the paying queue. The LONG wait outside in the sun began…
I saw:

• About 12-15 well-dressed people (probably economically active) waiting, some sitting in the blazing sun,
• Only three cashiers valiantly typing on their computers in an effort to work down the endless queues,
• Numerous people jumping the queue (sometimes in groups) and no one to stop the injustice, not even the flustered senior officer (hurrying everywhere trying to cover all the bases). 
• When told what was happening, her answer was: “New applications must be processed immediately. Sorry.”

Economically active people, in possession of driver’s licenses, must stay away from work, wait for hours in the blazing sun and pay to renew licenses that they qualified for years ago… but we have to stand back in favour of new applications! Many of them had to return the following day because the process could not be completed in one day!
By the way: I did pass the eye test.
After another 80 minutes of waiting, I was still third from the tail end and about tenth from the front. I gave up – travelling 55km home and returning the following day to try again. In the new queue were at least three faces from the previous day.
Although the office opened at 08h00, the first cashier only started at 8.35. The payment took only 7 minutes. Wow…
Shortly after eight, a notice was posted at the door stating that, due to the long weekend, the offices would close at 13h00. One might think that service delivery would prompt officials to attend to the waiting people as soon as possible… Think again! 
Fortunately, the next renewal is five years in the future. Hopefully transformation to service delivery will have been completed by then.
Sunburnt Law-abiding Citizen, Thabazimbi