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On Tuesday, January 10, 2017, I filled a form for a
partial withdrawal from my investment. I was told to pick a cheque in a week.
On Tuesday, January 17, 2017, I went to the office at about 2pm. It took two
female officers about ten minutes to locate the half-processed voucher. The
officer who was supposed to complete it had gone on break, so I was told to
wait. He returned to the office a little after 3pm. At about 3:15pm, he called
me to verify information. After I had answered his questions, I told him that
my cheque should have been ready by that afternoon, and that after a week’s
wait, I should not have had to leave my work for over an hour, waiting for them
to process my application.
One can understand the
one-week waiting period since the Branch probably has numerous clients.
However, whatever processes are entailed in the services ought to be completed
by the seventh day. SICLife has set the timeline; they must have weighed all
factors before settling on the time. The fact is that in the highly competitive
insurance sector, the 7-day processing time is too long. So to worsen the delay
by making clients queue on the seventh day for documents or services, the
agency is further squandering its business goodwill.
SICLife deals with workers;
making such clients wait unduly for service is counterproductive. When I went
to pick the form a week earlier, I spent over an hour in the office. Instead of
filling forms for clients, the officers could limit that service to illiterate ones.
The literate can fill their own forms, ask for guidelines when and where
necessary. One cannot downplay in any way the work of SICLife. Yet, offering
essential services must not be a licence for avoidable delays. The Branch must
respect its own timelines.
