Dear Editor
I refer to a Letter to the Editor written by Rohan Singh, Former Senior Superintendent of Police, captioned, “Is there a correlation between Guyana’s road carnage and rampant corruption in Traffic HQ and Divisional Traffic HQ?” Stabroek News, Monday, March 14, 2022. The empirical data of massive corruption in the Traffic Department submitted, is mind boggling. In his final paragraph the former Head, Presidential Guard, posited, “There is an issue of greater importance reflecting in the carnage of the roads – traffic accidents resulting in the loss of lives and limbs, injuries, destruction of properties, etc., – human and economic cost to the country and corruption within the police system. One thousand one hundred and fifty three potential killers were set loose on our roadways because of corrupt practices. This trend continued in 2018. In three of the four areas of focus, rampant corruptions was uncovered.”
Editor, please permit me to add my ‘three bits’ to this discussion. The Former Head, Audit and Inspection Unit, GPF was writing about alleged massive corruption in the Traffic HQ and Divisional HQ up to 2018. The same trend may even be operating today but at a lesser magnitude. I know Rohan well. I have no reason to question his integrity on this issue. The burning question is, was any condigned action taken to correct the sad state of affairs that existed at the time? I doubt whether anything was done. Perhaps, the report was dashed under the “Police No Action Red Carpet” together with other damnable reports. Thanks Rohan, for resurrecting your report and sharing it with the public. Corrective action may now be taken. It is not too late.
On the other side of the coin there is the issue of the very important practical examinations conducted by certifying officers in order to decide whether or not persons are competent to drive so that they could be issued with their drivers’ licenses. The protocols for conducting the practical examinations were conceptualised and implemented by retired Assistant Commissioner of Police Paul Slowe. He introduced the Learner Drivers’ Package shortly after he returned home from a period of extensive training in England. At the time Paul Slowe was the Traffic Officer. The instructions clearly stated that apart from a certifying officer conducting the examinations, a member of the uniform section of the GPF must be present throughout all the practical examinations and there must be the critical involvement of the Police Commanders in an attempt to avoid or minimise corruption. I am not certain if all of the current Regional Commanders are au fait with the Standard Operational Procedure.
There are allegations of members of the Traffic Department and other ranks of various sections of the Force as it relates to the Learner Driver’ Package. I say this because sometime after 2019, I conducted a quiet survey with personnel from the Driving Schools across the country, and former members of the traffic department who are training members of the public to drive. The evidence gathered revealed that over 90 percent of those who went to the Driving Schools to learn to drive already had in their possession their drivers’ licences before they engaged the Driving Schools and other driving instructors to teach them how to drive. No wonder there is a high amount of traffic accidents, particularly fatalities, although the police at their just concluded Annual Police Officers’ Conference boasted that there is a reduction of fatal accidents as compared with the previous year.
However, the public perception is that there are too many damage, minor, serious and fatal accidents on our roads where lives and limbs are in perpetual peril. Maybe, a small number of the one thousand, one hundred and fifty three potential killers mentioned by Rohan Singh have now graduated to become real killers and are very active driving recklessly, carelessly and dangerously with fatal consequences on our roadways. Wow. Hope that I am wrong. Sometimes I wonder why things in Guyana, and more so the Guyana Police Force, are so inherently incredible. Is Guyana a real place? May God help and bless the Guyana Police Force.
Sincerely,
Clinton Conway
Assistant Commissioner of Police
(Ret’d)