Mkuseli Lwana responds to this piece published on News24: Opinion: Service delivery issues: Robotic Process Automation can help asking why getting the process of renewing your licence disc for your car every year is necessary.
Interesting article indeed.
I have been watching long queues in blazing sun for hours throughout the country at Driving Licence Testing Centres (DLTCs) with people desperate to renew their licenses. I was also one of them.
Actually, I renewed my license disc online on City of the Cape Town website through Eservices portal. I had to wait for a disc to be posted but it took ages as they were on backlog too. I had to go to the DLTC for a reprint.
I wasn’t swearing… but asking myself many questions;
- If I renewed and paid for my license online, why am I here?…… oh to collect a piece of paper to stick to my windshield for traffic officials.
- But I have an old one, what’s the difference?… ooops nothing else but the date.
- But the disc has a barcode on it, they can simply scan it with a cellphone and get even more detail about the vehicle (try to scan yours with your phone)……. Don’t traffic officials have cellphones?
- Why even put a date on the disc then if they can scan it and see if the vehicle is lawfully on the road. If the info on the barcode is not linked to the system, then simple link it to reflect the latest/updated info.
- Why not give us just one disc for a lifetime (without a date) and just let us renew the discs online annually, without having to queue at DLTCs every year for a piece of paper.
- Mkuseli Lwana, Cape Town