Did you got a licence?

My driver's licence came up for renewal last week. 

To avoid queues, several people advised me to go to one of the traffic departments in one of the outlying areas.  But I wanted to experience what the majority of Mthatians go through, and went to the main traffic department with a friend who could help me with language and procedures.

The traffic department overlooks Mthatha.  In the foreground is the area where learner drivers take their tests.  Just beyond the fence you can see a large area of burned grass - a sight I am now getting used to.

We arrived at 08:00 and there were already over 60 people ahead of us in the queue. I had done my homework and brought a copy of my ID with me, but not a copy of my driver's licence. No problem. There was a man in a container offering all the necessary services - so I had my photos taken (grim, as expected), and made a copy of my licence.  I didn't have the exact change though.  No problem.  Moses, in the queue behind me, was willing to help out.

In the middle of the pic is a building site - a brand new shopping centre which will have a Woolies and lots of other fabulous chainstores.  I hope the access road gets upgraded too - if you're not avoiding potholes, you're looking out for killer speedbumps.

The queueing process was very orderly, and everyone was patient and understanding. It was rather fluid though - people got up and came back half an hour later, and their seats had been kept for them.  Sometimes people left and didn't come back at all.  Very little was said, and I'm still trying to work out if there was an elaborate signal sytem that I wasn't aware of.

By 11:00 it was all done and dusted (fingerprints taken electronically - no messy black ink).  But after three hours in the queue, my bladder was protesting, so I thought I'd see if the toilets were usable.

Mistake.

The first toilet had no lock on the door, no seat, no toilet paper, no cistern lid and no water in the cistern. Decided to give that one a miss.

The second door was locked

Let's see what's behind door number three.

The door was slightly ajar, but there seemed to be something in the way of opening the door fully...

Ah.  Now I see why I can't open the door.

I looked behind me to see if there were any other doors, and yes, there was another cubicle.

 However, it too, seemed to have been turned into an impromptu filing room.

There seemed no other lavatorial alternative, so I grit my teeth and left for home.  Quickly.