Pretoria - The City of Tshwane has pleaded for patience as the ongoing protest by the National Driving School Association of South Africa continues to disrupt licensing centres.
City spokesperson Lindela Mashigo yesterday said the Roads and Transport Department had initially been notified that the protest would affect a handful of its centres yesterday and today.
He said as a result the decision was taken to close centres such as Bronkhorstspruit, Centurion, Rayton and Waltloo, to protect customers, staff and resources. They were surprised to learn on Monday that the protest action was ongoing.
Mashigo said the City was dealing with an unpredictable situation where the protesting group was popping up in different areas. He said it was safe to say all the centres were affected by the protest.
“In the interest of safeguarding our customers, staff and protecting our investment, we will have to close shop as and when the protesting groups appear at centres. The unfortunate part is that we will have to continue rescheduling appointments, which can inconvenience many residents.”
The protest began last Thursday, with driving school owners calling for the suspension of the eNatis online booking system.
The association’s Peter Mokete, whose group has closed down the Ipeleng Licensing Department in Mabopane since last week, said they were tired of using the online booking system as it simply wasn’t working for them or their customers.
Mokete said driving school owners now had to be online the whole day trying to find slots to no avail, affecting them and their businesses.
“It's not just us as driving schools which are losing money and battling with using this system. It’s taxi drivers and bus operators who need professional driving permits, and even ordinary residents come to complain about how they cannot get slots to renew their licences. Something needs to give,” he added.
Mokete said they would continue to close the licensing centres as their businesses had already been losing money for some time without anyone taking seriously their pleas regarding the eNatis flaws.
Meanwhile, the South African Municipal Workers’ Union in the Tshwane region said it was disturbed by the recent events in the City where its members were subjected to physical attacks by residents and driving school owners in Soshanguve.
Employees of the City, especially those from electricity, roads and transport, water and sanitation, have been attacked by community members in Soshanguve when they deliver services, regional secretary Mpho Tladinyane said.
“During some of these attacks, our members were robbed of their cellphones and other possessions. It is unfortunate that these attacks continue even after there was a meeting between the City of Tshwane management, councillors and the community.
“We therefore call on the City of Tshwane to ensure that workers are afforded a safe working environment to discharge their responsibilities.”
He said the introduction of the online system created a challenge within the City of Tshwane licensing centres. “Over the past days workers have been barred from accessing their offices by driving school personnel in and around Tshwane. In some instances, workers were taken out of their offices and some lost their belongings.
“We hope that the meeting convened for Monday will go a long way in resolving the impasse. In the interim, we call on the department and driving school association to agree on a dual system of both walk-ins and online to cater for various constituencies.”
Pretoria News