Pretoria – The Gauteng MEC for Roads and Transport, Dr Ismail Vadi, says the situation at the Centurion Driver Testing Centre is unacceptable and needs urgent intervention.
MEC Vadi made an unannounced visit to the testing centre on Thursday morning, where he expressed his disappointment at the poor levels of service.
The visit was prompted by an influx of complaints to the MEC’s office regarding the centre.
“What is quite clear is that there’s a complete breakdown in management at this centre. The staff shortage compounds that problem. This is an unacceptable situation and will require an intervention.
“The main contributor to stagnant queues is the Live Capturing Units (LCU) stations, which most clients had to go through for an eye test,” he said.
On arrival, MEC Vadi was met by long winding queues and disgruntled members of the public, who immediately told him how they were with the poor customer service at the centre.
The main concern is also the lack of a proper management structure and the communication breakdown between the centre’s officials and the public.
MEC Vadi said the centre management needs to deal efficiently with the pressure points at the centre to speed up the processes.
When the MEC arrived at the centre, it was functioning on a 40% staff compliment, which contributed to the long queues. Many customers had been queuing for four to five hours.
The centre management acknowledged there are major challenges and assured the MEC that concerns raised will be attended to as a matter of urgency.
They further said that as part of the interventions, five new employees would be starting work at the centre on Friday, 23 January 2015.
The MEC said he will visit the centre unannounced soon to check if there has been any progress at the centre.
He also promised to take up the matter with the City of Tshwane authorities as the centre falls under their jurisdiction. - SAnews.gov.za
