Using COVID- 19 as a scapegoat for poor service delivery no longer an excuse

Iwould like to comment on digitisation and customer service in government departments in these days of the COVID- 19 pandemic.

Recently, my son wanted to write the theory driving test in Francistown. In August last year, he first went to the main offices of the Ministry of Transport and Communications in Francistown near the BMC. He went there during the week and found some 100 people waiting there to be served. Whilst there, he saw a notice informing him that he could

Aonly book for the test there on Saturday mornings between 8- 10 am. On hearing this, I thought to myself that, such an arrangement would surely lead to congestion outside the offices since only two hours per week were now available for customers to book their tests! At least, if they were able to book during normal office hours ( Monday- Friday, 7.30 am – 4.30 pm), then surely that would give them a better chance of success?

So, he went to the main office the following Saturday. He arrived very early – at about 5.30 am – only to find a long queue of some 80 people already waiting. He gave up there and then went to the other Transport office near Super Spar. Here he was told that he could not be helped since all the slots for the theory test were already taken for the whole of the following week. And he was told also that he could not book a time at a later date then – he would have to return to the office on another day and try his luck yet again. few weeks later, he stayed with relatives in Francistown on Friday night. At the end of the curfew on Saturday morning ( 4 am), he was driven to the Spar office where already about twenty five people were waiting; he found out later that they had slept all night in their cars in the parking lot outside Spar. After waiting several hours, he was at last able to book his theory test!

But the experience in the testing room was very different from booking the test! Here my son was given a tablet on which were thirty multiple choice questions. He was given thirty minutes to answer them by clicking the right answers on the tablet. Immediately after the end of the test a certificate was printed out showing how many correct answers he had given!

But it was very different when a few weeks later my son went to the Spar office to apply for his provisional driving license and to book up for his yard test. To better guarantee success, he went with a friend and arrived at the parking lot outside Spar at about 6 pm on Sunday. And to his amazement, there were already people there in line for the opening of the office the following morning! One guy went around registering names and he was number 16 in line.

They slept all night in the car and in the morning he was able to obtain his license. But he was unable to kill two birds with one stone! He was told that the slots for the yard test for the following day had already been taken and that he would have to come back again and try his luck. Now I wonder why the officers did not book him for a later date? So, he now had to sleep again in the car Monday night. On Tuesday morning, he went into the office and found out that only the first three in line would take the yard test the following day, Wednesday ( there was a queue of forty or more people). However, a total of 36 candidates actually did their yard test.

And the saga continued with the booking of the road test – the grand finale! My son arrived outside the main office on Sunday evening and spent the

Tnight once more in the car. But he was first in line for booking the road test on Wednesday. But he could not book the test on Monday; he was told that he could only do this on Tuesday, the following day. So, he had to maintain his place in the queue or get someone to stand in for him during those times that he went home for food and a shower. And yet another night sleeping in the car. He then went into the office on Tuesday morning when finally he was told to come back for the test the following day at 2 pm. The test was conducted at the stated time! he following day, he went to the transport office to obtain his driving license. But, for a welcome change, the wheels of bureaucracy were now moving in top gear and he left the office just after 9 am with his new license!

These days, we often hear that government is committed to digitisation in the workplace. Although that was so in the writing of my son’s theory test, it was a very different ball game when he tried to book for his tests. Here it was like going back in time to a different and long- gone era before computers were even invented. Back to the Stone Age? Surely in these days of digitisation, booking such tests can be done online with just a few clicks on the keyboard? My son received very poor customer service!