Close to a million residents have had issues regarding service delivery at the Welkom provincial traffic department due to it not operating optimally on account of staff shortages of and lack of proper equipment.
Residents cannot renew their licences or receive any related services provided by the department because of a lack of ink, paper, and face value (the green paper used to print licence discs, licence renewals, motor vehicle registrations and anything else related to the licensing department).
The department has purportedly been functioning in disarray since 2020 during lockdown, when the staff was minimised and only 20 people were allowed entry at a time. Service delivery has seemingly not improved since.
Residents make their way to the offices with hopes of getting assisted, but all they are met with is a note on the door stating that they will not get assistance for driving licence renewals and motor vehicle (MV) licence discs. Only enquiries and collections were made possible.
The Welkom office is the main testing centre for Welkom, Bronville, Thabong, and Riebeeckstad. The closure affects all the residents, dealership, driving schools, and banks – as they also need registration certificates from the traffic department.
When open, the department tests a limited number of people. Tests are done for about 50 people in a week instead of 100, and it closes in the middle of the day before 16:00. No water and no electricity means no work at the traffic department and people cannot receive help in those occasions.
Vista has been the recipient of many complaints from residents that the department is closed, even for enquiries.
“I have been trying for a year to fetch my driver’s licence. Every time I go there, and I have been there on many occasions, they are closed. It is either load shedding, no paper, or they are in a meeting. They close just after they open, if they open at all. There was a notice on the door. I heard ladies inside and told them I had just come to fetch my licence, but the door was locked from inside,” said Cathy Gavine, a concerned resident.
Shortage of equipment is an impediment faced by all the provincial traffic departments, with the Bethlehem traffic department inoperative due to these shortages.
The traffic department in Odendaalsrus has been closed for two years now. It was renovated, then vandalised before its re-opening. It has been closed ever since. This means the Welkom centre was responsible for the delivery of services to its residents.
Businesses and residents are losing money because fines are still issued for expired licences, even though their licences expired during the closure of the centre.
Vista spoke to one of the driving school owners and he mentioned a loss of income and the inability to help clients.
I have been trying for a year to fetch my driver’s licence. Every time I go there, and I have been there on many occasions, they are closed either load shedding, no paper or they are in a meeting. – Cathy Gavine
