The PPPC administration must act now to stop the road carnage

Jun 15, 2014 APNU Column

The deaths of three children from one family in multiple road accidents at Phillippi Village on the Corentyne Coast last Wednesday shocked the nation. Two teenage sisters, Tabithia and Wanita Bagot and their four-year-old niece, Shamain Cort, were killed on the spot. Two young men – Delroy Park of Cromarty Village and Matthew Mc Bean of No. 35 Village – suffered serious injuries in the same multiple accident and had to be hospitalised.
This tragedy is a grim reminder of the notorious Homestretch Avenue, Georgetown accident in July 2011. Five persons – Erica La Cruz; Coretta Benjamin; Crazel Paul; Peter Mc Clennon; Junior Duncan – were killed on that occasion. All the victims lived in Georgetown’s Sophia ward.
These road deaths are all too frequent. They should be a warning to the People’s Progressive Party Civic administration, the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Guyana Police Force that the road traffic situation is out of control. They must all act quickly and decisively to prevent more senseless killing. Change is needed and it must start at the top.
The National Assembly took the lead. Legislators, in a marathon debate on 30th July 2012, passed a Resolution of “no-confidence’ in Mr Clement Rohee and in his ability to exercise responsibility for human safety as Minister of Home Affairs. The Resolution called on President Donald Ramotar to revoke Mr Rohee’s appointment. The President, typically, never reacted to the Assembly’s Resolution. The Minister is still in place and lawlessness continues.
Clement Rohee has been Minister of Home Affairs for nearly eight years and the human safety situation in Guyana has deteriorated. Fatal road accidents occur weekly. Other forms of lawlessness – including armed robberies, arson, banditry, contraband smuggling, gun-running, money-laundering, narcotics-trafficking, piracy, police brutality and trafficking in persons – have continued on a daily basis during Clement Rohee’s tenure of office.
Road accidents, particularly, are a grave human safety problem. One thousand, six hundred and seventy-five persons have been killed in traffic accidents from 2002-2013.
There have been 57 deaths for 2014 already. Guyana continues to maintain a rough average of over two road deaths every week. Thousands more have suffered injuries or lost limbs. Traffic accidents are among the top ten causes of death and account for the greatest number of disabilities. Survivors have suffered disabilities and lifelong injuries. Victims have lost earnings and spent billions on hospitalisation.
Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, a former Minister of Health, once disclosed that, of the 6000-odd deaths Guyana experiences every year, road accidents are the seventh leading cause.
The biggest contributory factors to road fatalities have been the lack of effective ministerial direction, lax law-enforcement and dangerous driving habits.
The road safety problem, as the records prove, has been aggravated by the fact that ‘new’ vehicles are being added to the roads at an increasing rate, estimated at about 1,000 per month. There are now more than 80,000 vehicles on Guyana’s roads. Some drivers, however, simply do not have the skill or experience to be entrusted with responsibility for human lives on public roads. Many drive recklessly or at unsafe speeds and display aggressive behaviour and poor road discipline. Too many persons drive under the influence of alcohol. It is the task of the Guyana Police Force to detect traffic offences and prosecute offenders.
The Force, however, prefers to exert its energies by ‘making cases’ around car parks and minibus terminals. There, they gleefully arrest hundreds of petty offenders and touts. These actions do nothing to stop the spiralling toll of fatalities. Such operations do not address the fundamental causes of fatalities. Enthusiastic traffic policemen are rarely seen at night on the rural speedways when and where some of the worst accidents occur.
President Donald Ramotar must try to persuade the public that he is serious about road safety and about saving the lives of road users. He can start by acting on the Resolution of the National Assembly and by revoking the appointment of Clement Rohee as Minister of Home Affairs. The President must place responsibility for human safety in the hands of a Minister who has the interest in curtailing the road carnage and in making our roads safe for our children.

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The PPPC administration must act now to stop the road carnage

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