The Ministry of Home Affairs is to seek amendments to the laws dealing with damage to property resulting from motor vehicle accidents and improper use of motor vehicles to make prosecution of offenders more effective.

The ministry yesterday expressed concern over the damage being caused to public property as a result of motor vehicle accidents and is taking steps to amend the relevant laws to ensure that action is taken against the perpetrators, the Government Information Agency (GINA) reported.

The critical structures that have been bearing the brunt of the damage from these accidents are the traffic light systems, bridges and utility poles and the lighting systems installed on them.

The government expended over US$20M in 2007 to install a state-of-the-art traffic light system in and around Georgetown. And several of these installations have been damaged resulting in millions of dollars in repairs over the last two years.

The home affairs ministry said, “The Guyana Police Force has been tasked with the responsibility of ensuring that effective use is made of section 101(1) of the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Act Chapter 51:02 Section 61 of the Summary Jurisdiction (Offences) Act Chapter 8:02 with Amendments (1998), to bring the errant persons to justice.”

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Public Works which has responsibility for public safety, announced recently that it would be redesigning certain intersections with a view to reducing the amount of damage being caused by the reckless use of vehicles, GINA added.