With the rise of Covid-19 infections in the country, it is no surprise that a video showing a licensing centre getting disinfected would garner great interest.
Kagiso Driver Licensing and Testing Centre (DLTC) was the topic on social media when a video showing that the offices were closed for their weekly disinfection, popped up.
The decision to do this weekly, instead of bi-weekly or monthly was taken by centre manager Beefy Rayners, who is narrating the video and taking the viewer on a walking tour, and his staff.
"Ever since the beginning of June, I felt it's imperative that we need to ensure because of this Covid-19 pandemic, we actually maintain a certain level of hygiene at our centre. To basically safeguard not only ourselves, the staff, but the community.
"And then when it was brought to my attention that the West Rand started to spike relating to infections, it's then as opposed to doing it once every second week or once a month, it was then a decision that I took together with my staff that we will set a day aside every week to disinfect and maintain a very high level of hygiene in and around the centre,” he says.
'Covid-19 conscious' Kagiso Driver Licensing and Testing Centre trends on social media
With the rise of Covid-19 infections in the country, it is no surprise that a video showing a licensing centre getting disinfected would garner great interest.
Kagiso Driver Licensing and Testing Centre (DLTC) was the topic on social media when a video showing that the offices were closed for their weekly disinfection, popped up.
The decision to do this weekly, instead of bi-weekly or monthly was taken by centre manager Beefy Rayners, who is narrating the video and taking the viewer on a walking tour, and his staff.
"Ever since the beginning of June, I felt it's imperative that we need to ensure because of this Covid-19 pandemic, we actually maintain a certain level of hygiene at our centre. To basically safeguard not only ourselves, the staff, but the community.
"And then when it was brought to my attention that the West Rand started to spike relating to infections, it's then as opposed to doing it once every second week or once a month, it was then a decision that I took together with my staff that we will set a day aside every week to disinfect and maintain a very high level of hygiene in and around the centre,” he says.
The centre is fully operational, so Rayners and his staff work on a rotating weekly shift schedule to ensure that there is no more than 50 people in the building at all times.
His full staff consists of 34 people, eight of whom are interns; they are currently not working. So, he splits his team of 26 staffers in half and they rotate coming to work.
“So, there are 13 people in the office every week assisting and that’s on either side. The driver and learner testing side as well as the NPRA which is the motor vehicle registering authority side. So, those 13 people are broken up between the two sections.”
The centre requires people to bring in their own stationery to fill in forms among other precautionary measures.
“We also have our security guards and cleaning personnel ensuring that the centre is disinfected and sanitised probably about four and six times daily. And of course we need to ensure that our customers coming in daily have masks and they are sanitised before entering and ensuring that everybody does carry their own stationery to fill out whatever forms and things that needs to be completed.”
When asked about the public’s response to these measures, Rayners said there hasn’t been any negative feedback. And that he makes a habit of walking around the centre to talk to customers about any issues they might have.
Rayners has been a centre manager since April 2019, though he has been with the branch since the beginning of its construction. The interns at the office are all from the area, following the mandate that the community should benefit from centres like the Kagiso one being in their areas.
“My taking is that albeit that it is closer to the communities, I at least want to have my centre be a centre that the community is proud to have. They must be proud of the centre because it’s not my centre it’s their centre and it has to benefit the community for one.”