On 12 September 2023, Western Cape Premier, Alan Winde, paid a visit to the Western Cape Government (WCG) Contact Centre to show his appreciation for the important work employees do for citizens of the province.
The centre is the “heart” of the provincial government, where residents are able to access information on a wide array of services. At the walk-in centre, at 7 Wale Street, people can engage with agents in-person to raise issues or get information on WCG-related services.
Abdulrahmaan Razack has been working as a call centre agent for 18 months. “I do this job to make a difference in citizens’ lives,” he said as the Premier toured the facility.
“We must always be accountable and responsive to our residents. Our citizens are at the centre of everything we do,” emphasised Premier Winde. He added, “Our contact centre is the heart and face of our government where citizens are able to have their issues and queries resolved. I see it as a vital component of the WCG’s frontline services offerings. We are always striving to do better and by interacting with citizens through our contact centre we can gauge our performance and demonstrate accountability.”
For the current financial year about 16 500 contacts are received each month.
Since 2019 the centre has logged:
- 1 426 995 contacts;
- 1 045 213 tickets have been created;
- 1 010 829 tickets have been resolved – this is a 96.71% resolution rate.
In total 45 staff work at the centre. Agents can work remotely. This is helpful in some instances, such as during the recent mini-bus taxi strike, for those agents who were unable to go into the office but could still offer their services.
The Premier said, “Real innovation often comes from the coal face, from our employees who deal with residents and their issues daily.” Centre agent, Ngawethu Ndiki, said, “It is a way to give back to the community. We deal with a lot of transport, social development, education and housing queries. We work under pressure, but we are able to overcome challenges thanks to teamwork and the support of my colleagues.”
The Premier was told the job can be emotionally taxing, especially when agents receive calls related to crime. Team leaders are on hand to offer help. Debriefing is also offered to agents through the Western Cape Department of Social Development. “We are everything to some citizens who reach out to us: social workers, teachers,” remarked team leader Cindy Thomson at the main contact centre.
The Premier even put on a telephone headset and took a call. After logging the query, Cindy offered some advice on how he fared, “Try to keep the call time tighter, Premier.”
Contact Centre and Western Cape Government eCentre contact details:
Call: 0860 142 142
SMS : “Help” 079 769 1207
Please Call Me : 079 769 1207
Email: service@westerncape.gov.za
Social Media:
https://www.facebook.com/WesternCapeGovernment
https://www.youtube.com/user/westerncapegov
https://www.linkedin.com/company/western-cape-government
Gold Bentley
Skebenga / Skelm – a crook / gangster [skuh-beng-guh] A Zulu word for gangster.
Mantis Queen
Van is getting married, but he and his fiancee have never done the deed – in fact he\’s never been with any woman before. He\’s getting more and more nervous as the big day approaches, so he confides in his friend. His friend says \’No worries man. I\’ll come by the honeymoon suite before you guys get there, and I\’ll hide behind the curtain, and I\’ll whisper instructions to you.\’
\’You\’d do that for me?\’
\’Sure thing man!\’
So the wedding day arrives, it was a lovely service (so I was told, I wasn\’t there myself) and Van\’s friend sneaks into the honeymoon suite as promised and hides behind the curtain.
Van and his new wife arrive in the room, get settled on the bed, and things are getting steamy.
But Van is still super nervous and his tummy is bubbling, so he murmers to his wife, \’Listen babe, I\’m just gonna go to the bathroom quick. I think it\’s that wors roll from earlier.\’
\’Sure thing babe.\’
So Van goes into the bathroom, and he\’s taking quite a long time. And his wife is starting to feel the nerves herself. And it\’s getting worse. She can\’t hold it in. But she doesn\’t want to go after he\’s gone and totally ruin the mood. So she looks around and finally finds a shoebox. Quickly, she does her business in the shoebox, and she shoves it under the bed just as Van comes back from the loo.
Van gets back on the bed and they go at it again. But after a minute or so Van smells something not so lekker.
\’What\’s that smell?\’
\’Nothing babe,\’ he wife tries to assure him.
\’No man there\’s definitely something not so lekker in this room!\’VSo Van starts looking around the room, in the corners, in the cupboard, and finally he looks under the bed, and sees the shoebox.
He pull it out, and opens it up, and in horror he shouts \’Sies! Daar\’s kak in hierdie doos!\’
And from behind the curtain his friend yells, \’NEE MAN, DRAAI HAAR OM!\”