Recently, I lost my driver's licence while on my way home from work, and what should have been a fairly easy process, because of the supposed changes to the system, became a very horrifying experience for me. It also showed how incompetent, inept and corrupt some police officers and civil servants are.

And, I was also left to wonder why I pay taxes every month when those we pay are obviously guilty of obtaining money by false pretences.

But, back to my ordeal.

When I discovered my licence was lost, I immediately tried to find out what to do. I was told I could report my loss to any police station, so I decided to stop at the most convenient police station on my way to work. I thought it would just be an easy task, but how wrong I was.

After waiting for 20 minutes and explaining how I had lost the licence on my way home from work on a private carrier, a policeman told me since I could not say where exactly I had lost the licence, I had to report it to the police station near to where I worked or lived. He said in my case that would be the Maverley Police Station (which was closed years ago).

I thought I would get some help at the next police station but little did I realise that I was in for a more torrid time. While there, the policeman nonchalantly heard my concerns and then said to me I could not report it to his police station because I was unsure where I had lost the document.

Scratch his back

He added that since I was unsure, I should report it to the Maverley Police Station. But, then he seemingly had second thoughts and offered to take a statement from me but I had to 'do suppen' for him because 'one han' wash the other'. At that moment, I said I would report it to the Constant Spring Police Station.

Strangely, when I went to the Constant Spring Police Station, nobody questioned if the driver's licence had been lost in that area (and it could have been) nor offered to 'do a ting' for me. In a matter of minutes I was out of the police station with advice on how to proceed.

Clueless

My next ordeal was at the tax office where I waited 30 minutes for a printout of information such as my TRN, which I already knew. And, up until the time that I got frustrated and left, no one could tell me how much it cost for a replacement driver's licence or the documents I needed.

By the way, you know how they post these people at information desks in the tax offices? I think it's a waste of money because they know absolutely nothing.

I have some simple questions after thinking through all that I had to go through. Why should I pay the police twice when my tax dollar already provided for that service? And, why can't I fire both the police and the people at the tax office since I'm paying them? I mean, if I try to avoid paying taxes I will be arrested, but yet still I can't fire them for poor performance.

But, the good thing out of of all this is my driver's licence was returned after the driver found it in his vehicle.

Email: leighton.williams@gleanerjm.com.