Dear Editor,
In SN’s article (2022-03-10), “Benn sees the need for heightened enforcement in wake of road fatalities,” the Minister of Home Affairs, Mr. Robeson Benn, is quoted as saying, “The recent accidents and continued reckless road use…make the case for heightened enforcement, increasing fines and sanctions and renewed interventions for public awareness in respect of road safety and traffic management.”
In my 2016/2017 presentation at the Annual Officers’ Conference, as Head of the Audit and Inspection Unit, I stated the following. “Have we been able to diagnose the real causes, or are we tinkering with the symptoms as a way of avoiding uncomfortable internal organizational issues and socio-economic and political realities heavily impacting on the force?
Given the ingrained and perhaps unique Guyanese (police) culture of doing things, are we satisfied with how we have discharged our duties in our multicultural, multiethnic environment? Have we done enough to influence the mindset of Officers, Subordinate Officers, and ranks, leadership inclusive, in making the transition from where we are to where we would like to be…Has there been any real ownership of the structural changes at the middle and lower levels of management? As uncomfortable as these questions may be, they need to be confronted and critically analyzed.
There is no other choice if we are to forge ahead in delivering professional services as a professional and dynamic service-oriented organization…it takes vision beyond the parameters of authority, immediacy, expectation …It calls for critical thinking … The demands of conformity… lead to mindlessly fulfilling a designated role, quite often in robotic fashion…While the organization may grow quantitatively… the disproportionate qualitative growth outweighs both short and long-term benefits.”
In ferreting out corrupt practices within the force, the Audit Unit emphasized the following areas given the vast potential for corrupt practices – Traffic Headquarters and Divisional Traffic HQ, Fuel, Lubricants, Quartermaster Stores (QMS), and Extra Duty.
The following findings relating to the Traffic department and Divisional HQ are culled from the same Conference Report. “Random Audits were conducted for selective months in 2015 – 2 months, and four months from September to December 2016. Records audited in the divisions ranged from five (5) to nine (9) months. Depending on the findings within each Division, in some cases, audits were carried over to 2017.
Summary of transactions within all Licensing & Certifying offices.
(a) Records show that five thousand, nine hundred and ninety-one (5,991) Learner Driver packages were bought for the period. One thousand and forty-nine nine (1049) persons made appointments to re-sit and or reschedule.
(b) According to Divisional Records, five thousand, two hundred and ninety-two (5,292) persons sat the examinations.
THQ Lists prepared at the Traffic Headquarters based on the results sent in from the various Divisions show five thousand, six hundred and eighty-eight (5,688) persons wrote the examinations. This should have been shown as an excess of three hundred and ninety-six (396) persons. However, based on the manipulated figures discovered, an excess of four hundred and fifty-six (456) was tabulated as shown in diagram.
(c) One hundred and six (106) duplicated names were found. These were given pass marks using the names of other persons who would have written the examinations.
(d) Three hundred and ninety-seven (397) persons did not write examinations but received pass marks.
(e) Seventy-nine (79) persons did not register for any examination but received pass marks.
(f) Twenty-one (21) persons received their results (pass) even before writing the exams.
(g) There is a difference between the Divisional Lists and THQ lists of one hundred and one persons (101). Except for C and D, which only recorded differences, all other Divisions recorded both difference and excess.
(h) One thousand one hundred and thirty-four (1,153) or 20.23 % of all transactions conducted by the Traffic Depart-ment in all Divisions checked for the period were fraudulent.”
There is an issue of greater importance reflected in the carnage on the roads – traffic accidents leading to loss of life and limbs, injuries, destruction of properties, etc. – the human and economic cost to the country, and corruption within the police system. One thousand, one hundred and fifty-three potential killers were let loose on our roadways because of corrupt practices. This trend continued in 2018. In three of the four areas of focus, rampant corruption was uncovered.
Sincerely,
Rohan Singh
Senior Superintendent of Police
(R/td)
Former Head, Presidential Guard
Service
Former Head, Audit & Inspection
Unit, GPF
