Dear Editor,
Being a master procrastinator myself — and I'm not proud of it — I know a problem when I see it. It's probably a cultural thing, but it's something that really needs to be addressed — procrastination.
It's an ugly problem that seems to rear its ugly head in all facets of Jamaican life. Something must be done to coerce Jamaicans, and especially men, to address this problem.
Why in God's name do Jamaicans wait until the last minute to do essential transactions which will incur serious penalties if the deadline is missed? This is particulary disturbing when it comes to paying motor vehicle-related fees.
I was at the Transport Authority during the last week of the period designated for the renewal of road licences. Fate would so have it, that the Easter Holiday came during this time and cut the period by a day. Imagine my disgust at the huge throng of angry men (and a few women) acting as though the very hard-working cashiers were not doing their jobs and simply sitting pretty, instead of attending to them. Almost everyone acted as if only their business was important. There were all sorts of stories of why they thought they needed to be seen before persons with earlier ticket numbers than theirs. It was madness!
None of these persons seemed to find it convenient, however, to remember that the renewal period had been open since February 18, 2013 and not during the week ending March 31 when road licences expire.
I think that this is just downright irresponsible, and the cashiers should not be blamed. I could seeing that they were doing their best to move as quickly as possible.
I can also clearly remember the everlasting lines at tax offices at the end of the period for the recently concluded traffic ticket amnesty. I suspect there will be something similar, albeit on a smaller scale, as there is an amnesty currently on for illegal public passenger vehicle operators to get legal by June 30, 2013.
For those interested in hackney carriage licences, there are only 100 of that type being offered; so it is on a first-come-first-served basis, and these must be done through a taxi association. This, however, does not mean that persons can operate illegally in the meantime; so if your plan is to make this your livelihood, the sooner you act, the better.
I hope these persons will act speedily and responsibly in this regard, and for anything that may come up in the future.
Procrastinators, please pro-crastinate...tomorrow.
Double A
St Andrew
Jamaica's massive last-minute problem
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Being a master procrastinator myself — and I'm not proud of it — I know a problem when I see it. It's probably a cultural thing, but it's something that really needs to be addressed — procrastination.
It's an ugly problem that seems to rear its ugly head in all facets of Jamaican life. Something must be done to coerce Jamaicans, and especially men, to address this problem.
Why in God's name do Jamaicans wait until the last minute to do essential transactions which will incur serious penalties if the deadline is missed? This is particulary disturbing when it comes to paying motor vehicle-related fees.
I was at the Transport Authority during the last week of the period designated for the renewal of road licences. Fate would so have it, that the Easter Holiday came during this time and cut the period by a day. Imagine my disgust at the huge throng of angry men (and a few women) acting as though the very hard-working cashiers were not doing their jobs and simply sitting pretty, instead of attending to them. Almost everyone acted as if only their business was important. There were all sorts of stories of why they thought they needed to be seen before persons with earlier ticket numbers than theirs. It was madness!
None of these persons seemed to find it convenient, however, to remember that the renewal period had been open since February 18, 2013 and not during the week ending March 31 when road licences expire.
I think that this is just downright irresponsible, and the cashiers should not be blamed. I could seeing that they were doing their best to move as quickly as possible.
I can also clearly remember the everlasting lines at tax offices at the end of the period for the recently concluded traffic ticket amnesty. I suspect there will be something similar, albeit on a smaller scale, as there is an amnesty currently on for illegal public passenger vehicle operators to get legal by June 30, 2013.
For those interested in hackney carriage licences, there are only 100 of that type being offered; so it is on a first-come-first-served basis, and these must be done through a taxi association. This, however, does not mean that persons can operate illegally in the meantime; so if your plan is to make this your livelihood, the sooner you act, the better.
I hope these persons will act speedily and responsibly in this regard, and for anything that may come up in the future.
Procrastinators, please pro-crastinate...tomorrow.
Double A
St Andrew
Jamaica's massive last-minute problem
-->