HILLSTAR MISMANAGEMENT & POOR SERVICE DELIVERY

Queued at 05H00 Saturday 19 February 2022 to renew my driver’s license. I was first in queue and when they opened at 8am only started my renewal at 9H00. The security had assembled a different queue, who got attended first and I did not know why? All my forms and eye test certificate given by my ophthalmologist was ready days before. When doing my driver renewal, the examiner said they would not except eye test certificates by a doctor ophthalmologist, which was strange as the minister of transport had just said they do accept this on their new online license renewal website. The supervisor confirmed they do accept eye test certificates. When asking her name so I can report her, she ran away. I passed my eye test anyway. The examiner would not give me her name and neither would the rest of the staff. The pay terminals had only two staff and the queue staff member said they rest must have over slept. I only left the center at 9H45 after being first in the queue.

A week later my staff member also went to Hillstar the next Saturday but arrived late at 7H00 with wraparound queues. The security in charge of the queues and at the entrance door asked him for a R500 bribe to get him in front which he declined. This explains my delay the week before. Is everyone at the center aware or involved as this is so blatant and open? My opinion is that Hillstar traffic department is very poorly managed, run and inefficient which explains why there is always wrapround queues. Some people had told me they had to come back three times after not getting attended after queuing the whole morning. Now we know why!