Dear Editor,
President Ali has spoken. The caption is reassuring, “Strict penalties and licence suspensions for reckless truck drivers -President” (SN November 22, 2024). Am I the only citizen who heard the president, gives him his due. I am not a truck owner; cannot claim ownership of a single vehicle. I take this position because the same President Ali had weighed in rather heavily before. It was the same President Ali who had this to say in Demerara Waves a while back ago, “I intend to have a national conversation on this issue within the coming days, out of that conversation, new laws, regulations and technology will be implemented to stop the carnage on our roads.” On behalf of all road users, thanks for the interest and involvement, Mr. President (“Robust road safety and traffic management plan to reduce road deaths -President” Demerara Waves, January 01, 2024).
To ensure that Guyanese are on the same page, the date of that article and presidential quote is right. It was on New Year’s Day of this year, almost 12 months ago. The president spoke sharply and menacingly (also comfortingly) about this dangerous traffic situation a year ago. It is not Fake News. So, why does he have to repeat himself? Why do I have to repeat myself? Am I the only one around here who listens to Excellency Ali. I cannot implement anything that the president promised to have in place for overall road safety. But I can manage how I use the roads. So, what about all those other people to whom his words, his charges, are directed? I ask myself if they listen politely and say among themselves – ‘yeah, yeah, yeah. All of that has been heard before.’ Jaded they are, cynical too. Indeed, road recklessness is at the same state as before, probably worse.
Now, I extend a hand to President Ali, despite knowing that he will brush aside. Stiffer penalties, a new suite of technology, and a gaggle of laws all have their pluses. But I now don my hardcase hat. What about penalties for those ‘big ones’ in the PPP apparatus who help tidy up the road troubles of comrades? Specifically, those in the party who receive a call from a distressed driver (occasionally drunk) and who (bigwigs) then make their own call to a big or bigger one in the Guyana Police Force? And the big one in the police who comply? What utility do stiff penalties have then? How can any law have any teeth, be fairly implemented, under such circumstances? The president and his people are sure to have problems with me, but there is a penalty for the unconnected (they get thrown under bus). Then there is another penalty (none or below zero) for party comrades, private sector insiders, and other domestic collaborators. Party people and money people arrange their own penalties, decide which laws to obey and, when they do, they fix developments to suit themselves. I pound the local culture into the heads of all Guyanese. Citizens could be seriously injured on the roads, or dying, or already dead, and amid the carnage, the heavy hitters in this country negotiate to fix themselves and cheat the victims of justice.
I will give President Ali the benefit of being genuinely concerned and involved. He should not feign ignorance, however, of how his own folks in the PPP are part of a culture of evasion, coverup, and self-protection. I humbly nod in the direction of that procurement agency and a road mystery surrounding one of its own. All the penalties on the books are reduced to scraps. Similarly, President Ali should know from his Minister of Home Affairs about the culture of arbitrary justice that is processed for a price in the Guyana Police Force. The more damaging the accident, the more could be demanded, negotiated. What chance robust implementation when such is close to the norm? What are the odds of fairness and the fullest application of the law when a case file has been arranged just so, or made to disappear? The poor, weak, and vulnerable cannot compete and have bowed to defeat too many times, while these grand speeches are being made. Separately, when the police force is so politically tainted, touched up so much, then how can dangerous or deadly road matters be dealt with in another way.
Because it is the season of goodwill to all men, I go light on the president. He means business, is not about one of the usual pappyshows. In this country, talk is cheap, with political leadership talk the cheapest and most abundant. Perhaps, this is one occasion when President Ali means every word that he said. Time will tell. The proof will be in the kind of pudding served.
Sincerely,
GHK Lall
