THE BARBADOS LICENSING AUTHORITY is one area of the Government bureaucracy that is in a dire need of improvement.
There is no sensible reason why in this age of computers and electronic communication, that an agency as important as this should be taking two or three days to process transactions, such as issuing drivers’ permits or international drivers’ licences, that are done in a matter of hours in developed countries. There is also no reason why an agency such as this should only be working half-days and not full eight-hour days to do the public’s business.
There is an urgent need for the Ministry of Transport and Works to investigate what is going on at this agency, and provide the necessary resources to make it more efficient, since it is bringing in plenty of revenue for the Treasury and has the potential to bring in more. There is also no reason why only one office should be functioning at maximum capacity, when there are three scattered around the island. The minister responsible for this department needs to investigate and see what is going on, and how things can be improved.
The customers of this agency, who include visitors to the island who do not have the luxury of time due to the fact that they are on short vacation, are entitled to better customer service and do not need to stand in line all day to be issued a simple thing such as a driving permit, that would only take a matter of minutes or hours at the most in developed countries such as the United States, Canada or Britain. What is the point of having multiple locations if they are not all functioning up to speed, and continue to waste people’s time?
Other branches of the Barbados Government need to follow suit, and try to provide efficiencies so the people’s business can be done in a timely manner to conform to international standards, if Barbados is to be recognised as a developed country.
We therefore look forward to immediate improvement in all areas of Government, starting with the Barbados Licensing Authority and the Ministry of Transport and Works.
– ASHLEY L. McCLEAN
