Licensing Authority in the stone age

THE EDITOR: The Licensing Authority is in the stone age and I can say quite factually that there are approximately close to 50,000 illegally registered vehicles on the road today. Why is it that in the year 2004 that certified copies have to be written by hand? Why does it take seven to eight hours to register one vehicle? Why is it that some licensing officers go for lunch at 10.30 am and come back at 1.30 pm. Why is it that knock down cars are still being assembled and sold for $10,000 and are being put on the roads with illegal plates?

Don’t you think that these will be the choice of bandits? Is Franklin Khan blind? Imagine the system is the same as it was 20 years ago when five cars were being licensed. Now 100 plus cars are being licensed per day and there are still one or two officers and the same number of inspection pits. Our discussions with the Transport Commissioner Mr Nathaniel Douglas have always been very fruitful in that he is willing to do whatever he can to assist in making the Transport Division one that we can all be proud of but, the Government Ministers have not put in place any of his recommendations or made any significant changes for the past 10 years. Imagine lining up for two hours just to pay the cashier because the second cashier did not come out to work. In May 2003 the dealership system was put in place and car dealers were asked to comply with certain requirements. The Ministry of Trade cannot even police these dealers because they do not have the manpower.

So once again another white elephant is created and left out in the wilderness by our caring Government! We are insisting that a number of measures be put in place immediately including the Number Plate Recognition System (NPRS) which can read a vehicle’s registration and give you details such as the name of the owner, address and vehicle specifications or even raise an alarm if the vehicle is stolen. We are quite willing to provide the necessary information to the relevant Ministries but we know that this will not happen because some friend of a Minister will introduce it in 10 years time. We have also asked for the chassis number to be embossed or imbedded into the number plate so that when a car is stopped in a road block, you can be sure that the plate belongs to that particular vehicle. The Police are now getting vehicles that cost an arm and a leg to repair and the foreign used market can supply a quality vehicle to the Police Service at a cost of about $65,000 TT dollars tax exclusive.

Nearly 70 percent of the car market trusts us why not the Government? We are now getting nearly $50 a barrel for oil which will now provide our beloved Country with a mass surplus of funds. We now call on the Government to immediately put into place the measures that we have listed to ensure the safety of the citizens of TT. In ending I would like to ask how many individuals have gotten into accidents and have not gotten one cent because the vehicle they collided with was not insured or illegally registered?

INSHAN ISHMAEL
President PADA