Editorial | Evil twins of corruption and carnage

Transport Minister Audley Shaw has promised to introduce geofencing technology in the motor vehicle licensing process, with the aim of effectively ending the practice of obtaining certificates of fitness without inspection.

Geofencing is a vehicle-tracking mechanism using GPS signals. The technology creates a virtual fence around a specific geographic location, in this case an examination depot. It allows the tracking of exit and entry times, as well as driver behaviour within the geofenced area. If it works, one would not be able to have a vehicle passed remotely, as is often the case now.

Mr Shaw’s announcement, which came during his contribution to the annual Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives, is, in a way, an admission that the corruption which is said to be deeply embedded in the Island Traffic Authority (ITA) remains a live issue.

Weary voices of tax officials have repeatedly called for a revamp of the motor vehicle licensing process, even as they paint a picture of a system that is mired in corruption, allowing third parties to circumvent the procedure to enable the issue of licences to unqualified drivers, as well as the issuing of fitness certificates without the vehicles having ever visited an examination depot to be inspected and tested.

Ramshackle vehicles, some being used as taxis, are seen on our streets every day, and one wonders how and by what means were they adjudged to be roadworthy. But we know the answer: those vehicles have never gone anywhere near an examination depot; someone simply paid someone ‘a money’ and the vehicle was passed.

URGE CAUTION

At first blush, one may be impressed to hear the minister speak about geofencing, believing that Jamaica’s motor vehicle inspection system is becoming more modernised and that this will result in greater efficiency and transparency. But we urge caution on how will this measure rebalances the ethical relationship between the ITA and the motorists it serves. The touts who have inserted themselves into the system can only operate successfully with the collusion of persons on the inside. What about them, minister? How do you propose to blunt their corrupt practices? Is geofencing the answer? Some progress has been made in bringing several alleged corrupt officers before the courts, but are there others who ought to be flushed out of the system?

In reality, corruption is nothing more than a tax – sadly, it does not reach the Government’s coffers. In case of government services, it is perceived that corruption will speed up the process of an often cumbersome regulatory system, and there are those who are willing to pay that extra for a quick dispatch.

In devising this geofencing component, Mr Shaw and his advisers would have done the math to determine the number of vehicles in the island and the time it would take to physically process every one. Does the Island Traffic Authority have the resources to accomplish this task? Should consideration be given to having registered automobile dealers certify vehicles at the same time that they service them? That the system needs to be modernised and made more efficient is impatient of debate.

MAKE SUGGESTIONS

We submit that related bodies such as the Jamaica Automobile Association, in keeping with its advocacy role, should make suggestions about how the licensing process can be less cumbersome.

Within the wider society, there are still persons who turn a blind eye to corruption because they feel “it nuh hurt nobody”. That was the exact reaction to the lotto scam when it reared its head in western Jamaica. Many years later, with scores of bodies buried all over the country, it is becoming clear that the pervasive extent of lotto scamming has wreaked havoc in several communities, and is fast taking the country to the edge of the abyss.

More than 300 persons are killed or maimed in traffic accidents each year. We need to ask ourselves whether corruption in the motor vehicle licensing system must share the blame for the carnage on our roads. Vehicle safety and driving behaviour are factors which contribute to the damning statistics of some 65 road fatalities per 100,000 vehicles.

We must take decisive action to effectively fight and curb corruption, if we are to have any hope of dealing with the other issues that continue to bedevil our nation.