Times Of Swaziland: UNPROFESSIONAL MANKAYANE  TRAFFIC POLICE OFFICER

UNPROFESSIONAL MANKAYANE  TRAFFIC POLICE OFFICER
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The editor on 25/03/2014 21:25:00


Sir,
This is my sad story; I am a young man, unemployed, and I am job searching. Two
weeks ago I went to Mankayane Police Station to apply for a Public Driving
Permit. So I had to take a traffic signs and rules test, as that is the norm.
I found a couple of gentleman outside the traffic department, so they told me
testing was in progress inside. So I had to join the queue. I chatted with one
chap who was by my side, asking how difficult the testing was.
He told me it’s very tough, especially if the officers don’t know your face
(meaning you are not in public transport). He said he has already failed the
test but he was just nursing hopes that maybe he would be given a second chance.
He scared me a bit, though I was confident since I have been driving for the
past 20 years. I have been to many SADC countries, driving big trucks and
sedans.
Testing
So it was my turn. I went inside and found a young, dark, man who introduced
himself as a Mr Mamba. He was not in police uniform, neither had he any smile on
his face. He was with a female workmate. I explained that I had come for testing
since I was job-hunting so I wanted a public driving permit.
He told me, he was not the one responsible for testing but he was just doing a
favour for the people he knew, only, who were in public transport. He kept
asking me which quantum am I driving but I told him I am not employed but want
to go and try my luck in Matsapha at a certain construction company.
He boldly told me it would be tough for me to pass the test because he doesn’t
know me, I may cause unnecessary accidents on the roads like a certain Mr May
who is said to have killed people in South Africa. I tried to reason with him
that I have been driving for as long as I could remember and not even once have
I caused a road accident.
Mocking
He reluctantly tested me, but before he began he made mocking remarks that I
didn’t look like I would impress him. He laughed at me along with the female
colleague, yeah, he got the better part of me.
He really did not have his attention on me because he was glued to his mobile
phone, with both hands punching and clicking on his gadget. He was on his feet
preparing to leave because the female colleague had long complained about
hunger. So he would throw a question at me then would chat to the workmate with
irrelevant topics and punch his mobile phone at the same time.
No attention to me at all. He would then aggressively demand an answer from me.
I did my best in responding to his questions as quickly as possible.
Demanded
He demanded I respond to him in siSwati and thoroughly explain the signs. Two of
the signs he pointed to were a T-junction chevron and cul-de-sac sign, of which
I replied, only to find it was not to his satisfaction. He asked a couple of
rules; still I could not satisfy his hunger. He told me I was wasting his time
and I had failed. I think Mr Mamba was very unfair to me and showed
unprofessionalism in his job, if ever professionalism exists in his vocabulary.
As I was about to leave his office, one of the guys who were outside entered. He
was the same guy I chatted with earlier, who failed too. He pleaded with Mr
Mamba for a second chance but his pleas fell on deaf ears. This officer told him
he has dismally failed so he must try some other day.
This gentleman tried to explain that if he did not get the Public Permit he will
lose his job, since he was driving a Toyota Quantum trading as Sweet Home.
But this officer took none of that; in fact he told this gentleman that he was
lying, he was not employed by Sweet Home. Mamba said the owner of Sweet Home was
his bosom friend, so he knows all the drivers working there.
He went on to say every time the owner of Sweet Home sends drivers for testing,
he is alerted prior. So he said Sweet Home would have called first.
Confrontation
He said he wanted to prove further that Sweet Home was indeed a friend; he said
Sweet Home had bought a bus but the bus had still not yet arrived.
There was a confrontation between the two men until I left. This gentleman
followed me. It was indeed not our day. Mr Mamba and the female workmate locked
the office and drove away in a white VW Polo Sedan. They drove away with three
other gentlemen who were long waiting outside the testing office.
Based on these three gentlemen’s moods, we could tell they had passed all
tests. In no time we got transport, too, to Mankayane Town, that is me and the
other failer.
In town we spotted the two officers and the three gentlemen having delicious and
mouth-watering meals in one of the refreshment shops.
Whistle blower