EDITORIAL: Traffic Authority reeks of corruption

Correction & Clarification

The headline of the editorial on Saturday, March 5 should have stated ' Traffic Authority reeks of corruption'. The article did not in any way refer to the Transport Authority. We apologise for the error.

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The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament has been hearing more about the corruption that exists at the Island Traffic Authority (ITA). It's a well-worn story. Scandalous details revealed in Auditor General (AG) Pamela Monroe Ellis' annual report has promoted calls for a total revamping of the licensing system.

Among the startling finding in the AG's report are 65 cases of centenarians who were granted licences for the "first time" and more than 8,000 persons over 65 who were first-time holders of licences, as well as 1,767 applicants under age 17 who were issued driver's licences for the financial year ended March 2010.

The report painted a damning picture of the ITA as a rogue agency ably assisted by allies within or with access to the Inland Revenue Department (IRD). Mrs Viralee Latibeaudiere, director general of the IRD, seems to think the AG's findings merely skimmed the surface. Almost sounding at the point of frustration, she told the PAC last month that despite upgrading the IRD's systems, it still experiences fraud and other problems associated with issuing licences.

None of this really comes as a surprise. Let's acknowledge, at the outset, that the business of obtaining motor-vehicle licences and the steps required to register a vehicle is a deeply flawed bureaucratic process. Corruption is the means by which people speed up cumbersome bureaucratic processes. Someone has the money to pay, and there is someone who will accept illegal payments to provide that service.

Reputation of harbouring corruption

The ITA has earned the reputation of being a place where corruption lives. For example, the thriving car-stealing industry could not succeed without the collusion of licensing officials. Bogus licences could not be issued if there were no officers to slide the drivers through the system without proper testing. The processing and eventual delivery of the licence could not happen if there were no revenue officials willing to short-circuit the process.

So while we are not surprised at the AG's revelations of breaches, discrepancies and inconsistent data, we are baffled at the inaction of the Government. If fighting corruption is a key component in the nation's development, how is it that successive governments have failed to tackle the ITA?

We have heard condemnation of corruption and the ITA and talk of reform from every minister who has ever held portfolio responsibility for the ITA, but where are the results?

Perhaps it is the Government's tardiness that has allowed the ITA to arbitrarily introduce rules such as not issuing driver's licences in December and certifying motor vehicles for 18 months instead of the 24 months prescribed by law. Members of the PAC appeared to have been taken by surprise when they heard this information, with one declaring that consumers are being robbed.

What anti-corruption measures have been implemented at the ITA? Scores of people are unqualified yet they are driving motor vehicles. How many of them have had their licences cancelled and were subject to re-examination?

After his first eight months in office as head of the ITA, Paul Clemetson revealed that 500 bogus licence plates were removed from public passenger vehicles. So who issued those licences? Were the vehicles impounded? What is done about ITA officers who are engaged in corrupt practices?

Increased carnage on our roads is surely a reflection of poor driving habits such as improper overtaking and ignoring traffic signs. Sadly, such misconduct is compounded by the reckless action of ITA and revenue officials who have placed unqualified and undeserving persons behind the wheel.

As long as the corruption continues on this scale, the efforts of the National Road Safety Council will come to naught. It has to stop.

The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner. To respond to a Gleaner editorial, email us: editor@gleanerjm.com or fax: 922-6223. Responses should be no longer than 400 words. Not all responses will be published.