On Friday 29th April I went to the Registrar General’s Department at South Quay to apply for the “New Polymer Birth Certificates” for my family and a new Marriage certificate. I arrived just before 8 am as on my previous visit the week before I was told that all 400 numbers had already been given out by 11 am and that my application could not be processed.
After obtaining my initial number I was asked to wait in one area which I did for just over an hour and a half. At this time I was called to have my documents verified, and was given another number as all was in order.
I was then told to wait in another area and did so for the next 3 hours. It was now 1 pm and although I observed that the numbers were being called at a very slow rate I assumed that the office would be able to process the number of persons that tickets were issued to at the start of the day.
Imagine my dismay when at 2.15 pm I was told that the cashier would be closing at 3 pm and that there were approximately 100+ persons still to be processed, something that they would not be able to complete on that day. I had spent close to 7 hours at the Registrar General’s Department only to be told that I was not going to obtain my certificates.
I was absolutely livid, what a waste of time! Why had they taken more persons than they were able to handle in a day? They suggested that I come back on Monday but I could not as I would be working on that day. They suggested that I take some time off and come in. Don’t these individuals realise that when reporting for work you cannot just “take some time off.”
I have responsibilities to the persons that I serve and need to be present to do my job, which is why I came on my day off. I certainly did not expect the process to take seven-plus hours and definitely did not visualize coming away empty handed after being there the entire day.
How can we say that we are improving as a nation?
This process to obtain something as important as a birth certificate and marriage certificate is totally flawed and unacceptable. While I am able bodied, what about the elderly and the infirm? They were also subjected to the long wait only to be turned away empty handed.
If we are to progress as a nation we really must get our act together and do better for the public which we serve. These procedures have to be looked at by the persons in charge. It is just another example of an inefficient system that needs to be overhauled. To be fair, the members of staff encountered up to that point were pleasant.
Gillian Inkim
Maraval