THE EDITOR, Sir:
IT IS out of disgust that I write this letter regarding the poor service offered by the Registrar General's Department and the Jamaica Postal Service.
In July of 2003 I made an application for a birth certificate. Seeing the grief experienced by persons who tried to access the "so-called" express service on previous occasions, I decided to exercise patience, as we all should, and went through the regular service. Under this scheme the document should have been ready in six to eight weeks.
After claiming at one point that they had not received the information necessary to prepare the birth certificate, we were lucky enough to receive the document in March 2004, nine months later. Having endured that, I was not prepared to go through any more ordeals with these government agencies. Unfortunately this one came right to my door in the form of an opened mail. I was amazed because I did not think that mail tampering, which I hope is punishable by law, was still being practised.
Not only is it a violation of an individual's privacy but it also compromises the trust that one would like to have in our relations with this agency.
The unfortunate thing though is that when these things happen the agencies are not usual willing to admit that there might be some truth to your concerns but rather they are on the defensive.
One of my friends received a package from the Central Sorting Office last week with a particular item of value missing. When he returned to the CSO to have the matter investigated, he was treated as if he was lying despite the fact hat he had a list of the items that had been sent in the package.
With all the stress that we as Jamaicans are under and living everyday in fear for our lives it would really help if our day-to-day transactions were a bit more pleasant and stress-free.
I do hope that both the individuals who head these agencies will see this letter and address the importance of efficiency, good customer service and honesty.
I am etc.,
GEORGIA HARDING
Trafalgar Park
Kingston 5
