Runaround for a food badge

THE EDITOR: Kindly permit me space in your newspaper to express my dissatisfaction of public service departments, which is provided for students like me as it pertains to the Siparia Regional Corportion (SRC) and the Siparia office of the Ministry of Health, when applying for a food badge. As a student of the Trinidad and tobago Hospitality and Tourism Institute, I am required to obtain a food badge in order to participate in classroom activities in the kitchen area. A requirement for food badges is a medical certificate, which I had already possessed and therfore proceeded to obtain my food badge at the SRC. I was then given “without hesitation” a deposit slip of $25, to be paid in their account at the First Citizen’s branch of Siparia.

On receiving a receipt for the food badge, I was told by the bank teller to return one of the receipts, and the medical certificate, to the Siparia office of the Ministry of Health, located some distance away from the bank. When I arrived at the Ministry of Health, one of the clerks informed me that the SRC was supposed to send me to the Ministry of Health initially to conduct all the necessary transactions involving the food badge. With such dispointing news, I was then given another deposit slip of a second amount of $25 to be paid at RBTT in Siparia. After collecting the receipt for the food badge, yet again, I then proceeded to the Ministry of Helath, which is quite some distance away by foot and costly by car and reluctantly as well as disgustedly returned one of the receipts. From the horrible experience, it has made me more aware of the public service incompetence in Trinidad and Tobago.

There was a series of miscommunication, inaccurate information as well as a waste of time in the simple activity of acquiring a food badge. Not only have I been disappointed but it has also cost me money that I had not expected to spend. The service was rather poor and “they” showed no respect for the welfare and time of others. In essence, I would like to appeal to the Government service to heed my recommendation, that all public service employees should be made aware of the proper channels and procedures of all activity involved in their place of work. Another suggestion is that the service might be to provide an ATM to reduce any inconveniences, as I have experienced, so that payment would be swift and efficient not to mention effective in obtaining documents from the Ministry of Health.

RESHMA  SUNDARSINGH
Palo Seco