Police Force refutes route change article

May 22, 2008 News

The Guyana Police Force is refuting the contentions contained in an article published in the May 16 edition of this newspaper under the caption “Minibus Association wins challenge to route change.”

The article stated that the Guyana Public Transportation Association had been given judgment by the High Court in a matter in which the Association had filed a motion against the police changing the route for minibuses plying the Kitty/Campbellville routes.

The article further stated that Justice Jainarayan Singh had made an order instructing Acting Police Chief Henry Greene and Traffic Chief Neil Semple to explain the reason behind the selected route change which diverted from the original path.

“After given time to prepare a defence, Attorney General Doodnauth Singh had indicated that they were no longer interested in pursuing the changes and stated that the minibuses will be allowed to maintain their original routes,” the release continued.

However, the police are refuting the contentions and are questioning the motive behind the publication of the article without any factual basis.

According to the release, the Force wishes to clarify that enquiries revealed that when the matter came up for hearing before Justice William Ramlal, it was recognised that a writ was never served on the Attorney General. Justice Ramlal then ordered that the matter be served on the Attorney General, the police said.

A check with the Attorney General’s Office has revealed that the matter has not been served and the matter has been adjourned to June 23, 2008. The matter, the police said, is still current and pending before the court and will be pursued by the police as it is felt that the new routes will benefit the traffic situation and enhance traffic management in the city.