EL motorists, dealers being driven up wall

Ongoing protest action at the Buffalo City traffic department in Braelyn and the closure of the Munifin Centre in the CBD have sent the city’s motorcar dealerships into a spin as they battle to get their stock registered, roadworthied and licensed.

Dealers are having to use the Gonubie traffic department, which in turn is flooded with people standing in long queues.

When a Dispatch team visited on Friday, a queue was snaking out the door before 9am.

“I have never seen it so busy,” said Greg Smith, who was only halfway in the queue after 30 minutes in a bid to renew his licence. “I thought it would take just 20 minutes. I have a lot to do this morning.”

BCM spokesman Keith Ngesi confirmed that both East London offices were closed.

Traffic officers demanding the municipality pay them additional responsibilities allowances (ARAs) downed tools at the Braelyn traffic department on Tuesday.

Operations at the Munifin Centre, which include the licensing of vehicles, came to a standstill three weeks ago after aggrieved workers refused to work in a building plagued by rats, mosquitoes and sewage spills.

Peugeot/Citroen general manager Shakiera Haupt said the fallout of the protest was “extremely frustrating”.

“Our driver has to spend six hours in a queue every day to license one or two urgent vehicles. He leaves here at 7.30am and gets back at 1pm.”

Haupt said while clients had been understanding and Gonubie traffic department had been “extremely helpful”, she hoped the protest would end soon. “There is nothing we can do, but December is coming up which is busy.”

Standing in the queue on Friday was driver George Hatton of BMW, who said he had been using the traffic department in Gonubie for 15 years to register new and used vehicles.

“It has never been like this. I have to spend half the day here now.”

Motorland dealer principal Steve Chandler said the closure of the licensing department at Munifin Centre was “very, very inconvenient.

“ It’s affecting us terribly. We have three drivers who drive up and down to Gonubie (traffic department) all day bombarding them with our stuff, whereas before one of our ladies would just walk to the municipal building in town. It's a pain.”

At Buffalo Toyota in Beacon Bay, vehicle administrator Renee Williams said she normally used the Gonubie traffic department to license and register vehicles and obtain temporary permits and license disc renewals, but now there were two-day backlogs because the facility had become so busy.

“We normally drop off our folder in the morning and get it back in the afternoon, but we only got Monday's stuff today .”

The dealership’s principal, Nelius Cloete, said dealers supplying used vehicles to his company had been unable to register vehicles in their name.

“There is a delay because we can’t take a vehicle if we can’t transfer ownership. So there is a massive impact because banks don’t pay us unless the car is registered in our name. It’s a nightmare.”

Ngesi said the Munifin Centre would be closed until further notice and consumers were requested to use service points in Gompo, Beacon Bay and Gonubie and pay car licenses at the post office.