“Public Point’ to ease pressure on govt services

PHUKET: The Department of Local Administration (DOLA) and the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) on Tuesday jointly opened a “Public Point” service center on the basement floor of Big C Supercenter on the bypass road.

The center, open daily from 10 am to 8 pm, is connected to DOLA’s online system and offers most of the same basic services as a normal amphur (district office), including the issuance of birth certificates, marriage certificates and Thai ID cards.

Services are offered daily, except marriage licenses, which will only be issued on Saturdays.

The Public Point, one of 80 being opened in the country, is part of DOLA’s nationwide effort to improve its services as part of its “Amphur Yim” (smiling amphur) campaign, launched to mark the August 12 birthday of HM Queen Sirikit.

The Big C branch was opened at a cost of 1.45 million baht, funded jointly by DOLA’s Phuket office and the Phuket OrBorJor.

DOLA Director-General Siwa Saengmanee, a Phuket native, noted that the new center should take some of the pressure off the overburdened Muang District Office. It will also give working residents the convenience of obtaining government services outside of normal government working hours, he said.

Non-Phuket residents can also use the service, which in the future will issue the new government “Smart” ID cards, he said.