Auditor-General slams ‘touts’, ‘disarray’ at Licensing Office

Auditor General Jocelyn Thomas has slammed the Licensing Office of the Ministry of Works and Transport in a report on a “Special Audit of the Transport Division” dated June 10, laid in the House of Representatives yesterday.

She was particularly stinging about the presence of “touts” at both the Registration Office and Inspection Area of the Transport Division. Remarking on the system of motor vehicle registration, she said: “It was observed during the audit that some individuals regularly took registration forms to and from the Registration offices. Upon enquiry, it was found that these people were not employed by the Transport Division and were commonly refered to as ‘touts’. This practice was observed at both the Port-of-Spain and San Fernando offices. This practice leaves the Transport Division open to the risk of fraud and manipulation of information on documents. “The Transport Commissioner, with the approval of the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Works and Transport, made an attempt to address the security of information and the removal of ‘touts’ from the compound by issuing a circular dated July 23....At the time of the audit there was no evidence to indicate that this decision was ever implemented or enforced.”

The Auditor-General was dismayed at the security and control of registration documents at the Licensing Office. She said: “The Card Room appeared to be in a state of disarray despite the highly confidential, delicate and sensitive nature of the documents. The storage capacity of the room appeared to be inadequate, with insufficient space to accommodate the continuous flow of documents.” She added that numerous changes were made to the registration cards, and on some cards the changes were untidy and illegible. There was no set time period for the Registration Office to return the completed cards to the Card Room, some cards being kept in the Card Room up to six months after the vehicle had been registered.”

The report criticised the system of motor vehicle inspection for taxis. The Auditor-General said: “Transport Officers did not always personally verify the chassis and engine numbers recorded on the vehicle. Owners were sometimes allowed to read the numbers off the vehicle while the Inspector verified the information against the certified copy.” She added that Inspectors did not always comply with all the checks specified in the checklist under the Motor Vehicle and Road Traffic (Amendment) Regulations. She revealed that equipment had gone missing from the Transport Division, saying: “Two out of three mobile emission-testing units assigned to the Port-of-Spain office were missing. It was explained by staff that one could not be located and the other was at the dealer’s office for maintenance. At the time of the audit, the emission-testing equipment was not recorded in the inventory register.”