Dear Editor,
It is with utter dismay that I pen this letter about the harassment of drivers heading to the Timehri Airport by traffic ranks, although there have been many calls from the Traffic Chief and the Commissioner of Police denouncing this behaviour.
Recently I was a passenger in a vehicle heading to the airport to drop off my sister, and as the vehicle turned into the turn in Timehri heading towards the airport a traffic rank stopped the vehicle.
It appears as if the traffic ranks are out to target all the passengers heading to the airport to catch their flight, because I have noticed a pattern.
The driver of the vehicle was told that he was above the speed limit for the zone. The rank further told the driver that the speed limit of 60 mph is listed at the Soesdyke Junction. This is although I noticed minibuses and other vehicles flying around the turn at a fast rate of speed which the policeman ignored. The driver was subsequently charged and issued a ticket because he was traveling at 62 mph. The policeman was right in doing his work; however, on multiple occasions when I visit the airport I notice these ranks pulling vehicles over because they have their own aims, which I’m sure the senior police officers of the Guyana Police Force already acknowledge. I would like the Traffic Chief and the Commissioner of Police to reiterate to the traffic ranks that hassling travellers minutes away from the airport isn’t right, since the real reason the rank pulled the vehicle over was because of the rush, and this is well known to all and sundry. Citizens are not to be taken for granted when you’re serving the public and representing an image of Guyana.
Yours faithfully,
Haleem Khan