Dear Editor,
I have noticed with some amount of amusement that in recent times there has been an upsurge in the letters column of your newspaper, of very critical missives concerning the operations of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) and more particularly the Licence Revenue Department (LRD). My suspicion has been aroused that this could very well be orchestrated not only to harm the organization’s image but as it would appear, to target the Head of that Department who has been making significant strides in recent times in his bid to eliminate corrupt practices, and in the process may have been making the lives of those officers acting in concert with certain members of the public engaged in those practices very uncomfortable, and threatening the continuation of their exploits.
Let me at the outset say very categorically that I welcome criticisms from any quarter as in the case of the confrontational Mr John Persaud, whose letter you published in the January 24 edition of your newspaper under the caption ‘There may be a problem with the new licensing arrangements.‘ I would not however, waste any time commenting on the rubbish about comparing me with a certain admirable and distinguished personality of this country, nor rebut the nonsense that you have allowed to be published concerning my salary which is indeed libellous and of which I have requested my attorney to take note and act accordingly. Rather, I would like to constructively spend my time to provide your readership with clarifications as to the problem that Mr Persaud perceives would be encountered by the GRA as it proceeds to implement the new system for the sale of motor vehicle licences.
Editor, my Public Relations Department has been very actively engaged in both the print and electronic media explaining how the new system works. The fact therefore that your newspaper would choose to publish such a letter that raises issues which ought to be straightforward and comprehensible would suggest that the campaign failed to achieve its stated objective, or made inappropriate and inaccurate assumptions concerning the target audience. We most certainly will have to go back to the drawing board and rethink our strategy. It is for this very reason that we welcome the feedback from the public, as hopefully this approach will be useful in guiding us in making the necessary adjustments to the system where the need arises.
Let me make the point that, as is common with any new system that makes fundamental changes to the way the public is provided with a service, there are bound to be those who will stoically resist these changes; and it may sometimes be validly argued that among them are those who have their status quo to protect and would rather not have such changes see the light of day lest the schemes of deception that once thrived under the shroud of confusion and chaos would be discovered.
Editor, my PR campaign would have surely addressed the issue of the period that would most certainly arise for almost 99 % of vehicle owners whose licence cannot be renewed on the first day of the year, but during varying anniversary dates of the first registration of the vehicle. Mr Persaud needs to reflect that the same perceived problem would have arisen when some two decades ago the sale of driver’s licences underwent the same change to allow for the renewal of the licence of the driver on his or her birthday. I am therefore flabbergasted that your letter-writer would not have figured out for himself, that there is absolutely nothing that can be done about this “gap” during the transition from the old to the new that would not invite some amount of confusion.
Editor, let me assure your readership that the Guyana Revenue Authority would have ensured that the relevant authorities that are charged with the enforcement of the renewal of the motor vehicle licence are adequately briefed on the workings of the new system. In addition, various press releases would have been issued to advise the general public about the enforcement activities that would be pursued by the law enforcement agencies of the state. While it is therefore acceptable to make criticism, had your letter writer paid close attention to the many press releases issued on this new initiative, he would not have had such concerns over being stopped by the police.
We deliberately stated in our discussion on the subject, that the police would be provided with a listing of those motorists who have failed to respond to the notice issued by the LRD to have their motor vehicle licence renewed on the anniversary date of the first registration of their vehicle. This we advised would be the basis for the police engaging in the campaign to intercept, and if necessary charge motorists for not responding favourably to the reminder sent to each and every vehicle owner.
Mr Editor, as you would recall, prior to the introduction of the new system for the issuing of motor vehicle licences, the sale of such licences commenced after the passage of the Appropriations Bill in Parliament and lasted for a limited period of three months. During this period, and indeed prior to the commencement of sale of motor vehicle licences (January to the period prior to the passage of the Appropriations Bill), no enforcement activities were carried out by the Guyana Police Force.
This policy to grant a grace period then for the period commencing from the beginning of the year until the sale of licences comes to an end some six months later, will occur for this first year only during the phasing-in period. It is common sense that this by necessity has to happen but will be dispensed with in all subsequent years. As a matter of fact the benefits that are likely to flow to the motorist will certainly be most welcome to the overwhelming number of them who ply our roads throughout the length and breadth of this country.
With the implementation of the current system for the issuing of motor vehicle licences, motor vehicle owners like Mr Persaud will be reminded by way of notices of the renewal date of their motor vehicle licences. This has never occurred in the history of this country, paving the way for significant improvements to be experienced in monitoring the sale of the licences, as well as ensuring enforcement activities are conducted by the Guyana Police Force in the most professional and efficient manner.
This first year of implementation would therefore be a special year, not only for those accustomed to having to wait long hours to be served and becoming frustrated with having to walk with many documents, but also for the purpose of enforcement, since the Guyana Revenue Authority will provide the Guyana Police Force with updated information on all unlicensed motor vehicles on a monthly basis for appropriate action to be taken.
I trust that this amply explains, not only for the benefit of Mr Persaud, but for that of your wider readership as well perhaps as members of our law enforcement agency what to expect in the days and months to come, while we as motorists begin to reap the benefit of the long, arduous and dedicated effort of the GRA’s hard-working Information Technology staff, who can now finally breathe a welcome sigh of relief that the days of confusion and chaos that once prevailed and which were a hotbed for many unscrupulous activities, would become a thing of the past. I know for a fact that there are some very bitter and disgruntled persons who would have made significant illegal gains from their exploits.
Finally, in closing, I welcome any suggestions, but would prefer the discourse to be at a civilized level considering the many challenges that the LRD is likely to face in the days and months to come, and where possible to also be provided with workable solutions to these problems.
Yours faithfully,
K Sattaur
Commissioner-General
Guyana Revenue Authority
