And you thought the DMV was bad in the states!

Here's an account of the struggle at the local DMV in getting myself registered as a vehicle owner in South Africa. [written on 2/12/2009]

The last two days have been a nightmare of bureaucracy as I tried to get a "traffic register number" (basically a sheet of paper making it legal for me to buy a car) at the local DMV. Since the metropolice had been on strike for almost a week and a half, the station was overwhelmed with people. I stood in line for hours upon hours trying to get to the right teller. Once I did, he was so kind as to tell me that my bank statement would not work as proof of residence but I needed to bring in my lease. So, basically a whole day and $40 in cab fare for naught. Luckily, I finally got the deed done yesterday (they took my paperwork) but still have to go in on Monday to pick up my traffic register number certificate. This, in turn, I give to the seller (a car-dealing Rotarian by the name of Clive who's been exceedingly helpful) and then they struggle with the mess of getting it registered (back to the DMV, egghh!)

Clive currently has my traffic register number certificate and is in the process of getting the car registered under my name.

This is Africa (TIA) describes the situation well.