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Letter of the Day | What a grand waste of time!

Published:Tuesday | November 13, 2018 | 12:00 AM

THE EDITOR, Sir:

On November 9, 2018, I had to renew my driver's licence, a procedure that took almost two hours, 45 minutes of which was waiting in a line to pay the fees.

Can we not put this activity online like so many other fees, and print out a receipt and take it to the tax office, I would go further to say, why not let us fill out the form on line, too, saving another 30 minutes?

If we make a simple calculation, we can determine how much money we are losing in man-hours yearly by this process.

- Population= 2,800,000

- Driving population 45%= 1,260,000

- Average hourly income= $1,000 per hour

- Number of people renewing each year= B/5 252,000

- Man-hour dollars lost each year= D*C*1.25hrs $315,000,000

So, if we could save $315,000,000 with simple automation using an existing platform, wouldn't it be worth it?

This is one of the things that contribute to our low personal productivity, as time is not considered or treated as a commodity in Jamaica, while it is the most precious commodity, as when lost or wasted, it cannot be never be regained.

How much more time and money could we save, nationally, if we thoroughly examined all the processes that citizens must complete annually at the various government facilities.

Let me add, however, that I commend the staff at the Montego Bay tax office because they must bear the brunt of customers' frustration, and they do it with grace and decorum.

Streamlining these processes will make the customers life easier and those for the collectorate.

Can we please give it some consideration?

MARK N. KERR-JARRETT (JP)

Montego Bay, St James