If passed by the National Assembly, an amendment to the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Act could see the appointments of traffic wardens to issue tickets and perform other traffic policing duties.
Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee on Thursday tabled the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill which proposes the appointments of traffic wardens to issue tickets and perform similar duties to that of a member of the Guyana Police Force, pursuant to section 8 of the Summary Jurisdiction (Procedure) Act, Cap.10:02.
The bill, according to its explanatory memorandum, seeks to amend the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Act, Cap 51:02, by the insertion of a new section 47A which empowers the Commissioner of Police with the approval of the Minister to appoint a person as a traffic warden.
The functions of a traffic warden, the bill’s explanatory memorandum says, are to assist members of the Police Force in the control and regulation of traffic and in the enforcement of the law relating to road traffic. A traffic warden, it adds, may issue traffic tickets and perform duties similar to that of a member of the Police Force in pursuant to section 8 of the Summary Jurisdiction (Procedure) Act, Cap.10:02.
The bill also proposes a $30,000 penalty and a six-month period of imprisonment for any person who is convicted of failing to comply with the directions given by a traffic warden, obstructs a traffic warden in the execution of duty, or incites others to do the same.
This bill comes in the wake of a spate of recent fatal accidents on the country’s road ways. Recently the presidential candidate of the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) David Granger had accused the PPP/C administration of incompetence in ensuring road safety.
The Home Affairs Ministry, however, has said that the police force has managed to reduce the road death rate, which is lower than the average in both low-income and middle-income countries. The ministry said that road deaths are down by 17.4 percent since 2007.
