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Like many thousands of other procrastinators in the
city, I chose to wait until the last minute to renew
my inspection tags at the Road and Transport
Authority or otherwise the horrible chaos that is
Megenagna. I was fully aware that I would have to
wait in line before I would be able to do any thing
at all, but I was not prepared for the mind numbing
inefficiency and disorganisation that I encountered.
We have to be very clear on something, this is an
institution that caters to hundreds of thousands of
vehicles right here in the capital. There are well
over 80,000 personal vehicles, 40,000 company
vehicles, 20,000 taxis, not to mention embassies,
NGOs, and the government itself which has not only
all its federal headquarters in the capital but
dozens of smaller institutions along with the city
government. With all these cars and drivers on the
roads, there have been no significant improvements
made to make the visit to Megenagna as painless as
possible.
Considering the amount of business that is going
through there, and if they are selling mandatory
forms for two birr a piece, coupled with the taxes
and fees that they collect, it is inexcusable that
nothing has been done to improve the quality of
services that this component of the government
renders to the public.
This is perhaps the place where the failings of the
urban government can be clearly seen. There have
been no simple amenities put up so that people
planning to be there for hours on end can sit down
outside of the baking sun. The offices are cramped
and not suited to cater to the amount of traffic
that they are forced to on a daily basis.
The space that has ineffectually carried this
lapsing institution for as long as I have been alive
needs to be changed. The public that have chosen to
pay exorbitant taxes on vehicles, purchase fuel and
pay all the other fees and dues associated with
owning and operating a vehicle are in the least
entitled to be able sit while they wait for the
lines that look like they could compete with the
Great Wall of China.
Although the change of space is a given, when
looking closer at the subject, you come to the
question of what staff are going to fill the badly
needed larger complex that is absolutely necessary
(please do not mention the most recent building that
was put up to this effect, it too has turned into
chaos).
The institution is already understaffed as it is.
This is the most obvious reason why there are two
cashiers to what seems like 1,000 people. This is
also the reason why we have to get tan lines before
we can receive any service, and that is a long time
considering our complexions.
With the glaring fact that the civil service
training institutions and universities across the
country are putting out a sub-par workforce, there
is no hope to make the already available staff any
better by replacing it. It might actually make the
situation even worse with the time it would take for
the new recruits to get the hang of the very
complicated bureaucracy that has become the standard
working of this system that we live in.
Here is a suggestion from one of many frustrated
people: figure out a way to build a quick large
space that has seating and perhaps a window system
that can cater to more than two customers at a time.
Funnily enough, living in the 21st century, it is
quite easy to have spaces built elsewhere and
assembled right where you need them, no fuss no
hassle.
While this badly needed space is being built, you
can take the cream of the crop of the civil service
institutions and provide hands on intensive
training. Then assemble space, install new staff
mixed in with the old, actually have a coherent
system whereby the customer does not have to cross
the street to pay two birr for a mandatory form and
come back due to lack of information and not making
items available where they need to be.
Maybe this is a lot to ask, but I say this would
have been a better millennium gift for the city than
the distortion of art that is sitting in Meskel
Square right now, but I could possibly be upset that
I had to wait in the baking sun for hours on end.
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