Long queues due to one BSP ATM available - Post CourierBY NELSON...

Long queues due to one BSP ATM available - Post Courier
BY NELSON JOE
Only one BSP automatic telling machine was in operation for the most part of last Friday in Goroka, Eastern Highlands Province.

It is one of the three ATMs at the BSP Goroka branch in the central business area where the customers flocked at.

Initially, there were two ATMs serving at this station in the early morning but one of them ceased serving at around 8:00am.

By mid morning, the queue made a full turn at the front of the nearby supermarket and blocked off the footpath as it ran alongside its first part, past the door to the ATM booth and extended further towards the entrance of the BSP building where the security guards were rationing the entries to ensure no overcrowding in the building.

At midday, the situation remained unchanged, with all four ATMs at the Bird of Paradise Hotel “Temporary out of service”, and so one of the two ATMs at the Able Computing store while the other was available for balance check, as well as the one at 123 supermarket.

This paper checked at the Goroka Provincial Hospital at around 2:00pm and saw that the two BSP ATMs were also “Temporary out of service”, not to mention the other two ATMs at the Seng Da Hyper Mart that always remain so.

The customers resorted to using the eftpos for shopping but expressed concern that cashback is limited to K150 only.

However, public servants, especially teachers and health workers from the rural districts, said they need cash to budget for their daily needs in the next two week before next pay day.

“With cash at hand, we can buy vegetables from local markets from day to day to keep us going for the next fortnight,” said **riel Wilson, a teacher at one of the schools in Okapa district.

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