Dear Editor,
Recently I visited Guyana, the country of my birth and I applied for and was granted my new plastic driver’s licence (DL) from the Guyana Revenue Authority.
However, I would like to know what this new licence is good for? The reason is that I went to the bank to conduct some business with the said new plastic licence and the Manager told me that that form of ID was not accepted. I quickly retorted that it is a government-issued ID which carries my picture.
I can’t believe in 2014, a financial institution that boasts of being “international” would have a difficulty accepting an ID that is issued by the Government in power. I see this as a flagrant disregard for the efforts being made by the Ruling Party to improve the lives of its people.
I was flummoxed while speaking to one of the Managers on the phone about the matter, who informed me that he was awaiting the OK from the government to accept as a form of ID, the new plastic DL.
I could only shake my head and wonder what next for Guyana the country of my birth, when a DL is a common form of ID in other parts of the world where financial business is conducted.
The other thing that I have observed was that I visited a long established business to make a purchase which was over $100,000. So, I took out my ATM card to pay for the transaction and I was told by the cashier that I have to pay with cash because they don’t accept cards. What the heck? We are almost at the end of 2014. I can only imagine how frustrating it is for people who do business at that establishment and by extension in Guyana.
However, I hope that by the time I return to Guyana, the issue of accepting the new plastic DL would have been resolved in favour of persons who possess same and would like to use it as a form of ID.
Yours faithfully,
Samuel Legay
