Public urged to use local complaints structures first

By Khanyisa Tabata
16 September 2009

The public has been urged to first pursue local structures for complaints before voicing their complaints directly to the Presidential hotline.

The toll free number 17737 is a services delivery improvement intervention that is aimed at assisting at planning, monitoring and evaluation of government performance in the process of service delivery.

The number became operational on Monday and according to reports it received more than 1500 calls an hour from people who wanted to direct their problems straight to President Jacob Zuma.

The Presidency has since urged members of the public who do not get through to the Presidential hotline the first time, to be patient as the glitches will be sorted out.

According to the Presidency, 31 agents were handling call logging and routing them to the public liaison structures across the country.

With the help of the public liaison officers in departments and provinces, members of the public will be provided with feedback on their queries.

If the lines are busy, government has urged members of the public to try following alternative numbers: Fax: 086 681 0987 or 012-323 8246, E-mail: president@po.gov.za.