GPL versus the police force: What a sick country

Nov 29, 2018 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

Below is the description of an incident, which I witnessed involving a high-level employee of the GPL and ranks of the police force. It is one of the reasons why young people are leaving Guyana. With the kind of society that Guyana is, young people are not going to stay. This country has to be more modern and commonsensical and uproot the rut that has buried it.
Yesterday morning at nine o’clock, I was jogging in the National Park. On Carifesta Avenue, traffic ranks were conducting an exercise. I know as night follows day, these ranks abuse their authority. So I am always inclined to stop and make discreet enquiries of drivers as to why they were stopped. I know the police have to give a reason, but they don’t. Of course, they didn’t as usual yesterday.
Then they pulled over Mrs. Shevion Murray, the Public Relations Officer for GPL. I asked Mrs. Murray why she was intercepted. She was told her licence plate does not conform to the prevailing standard. Mrs. Murray’s numbers were large and graphically clear. So I enquired. The sergeant explained. Murray’s number is PVV. Now take a look at the capital letters here “VV.” As you will see, V is a two-pronged letter. The sergeant showed me that one prong is thinner than the other.
By this time, the four other ranks were annoyed that I intervened. Murray asked to go and get a new licence plate. I told the ranks, there is a shop which is about two minutes drive away. They said she committed a violation. I then asked if the offence is ticketable. They said no. I advised Murray to retrieve her documents. They returned them minus her fitness certificate, which they immediately revoked and kept. She was instructed to drive to traffic headquarters.
I have in front of me the police schedule of ticketable offences. My schedule is six years old. It has 35 ticketable offences. I cannot enumerate all of them because there isn’t space. What I will do is show you those that are a million times more serious than a licence plate whose numbers or letters are not compatible with the standard ones. Here is a sample;
1- Driving uncertified motor vehicle
2- Speeding
3- No driver’s licence
4- No helmet
5- Failing to exhibit fitness certificate
6- Failing to exhibit road licence
7- Unlighted vehicle
8- No reflecting mirror
9- Leaving motor in a dangerous position
10- Refusal to give place of address
11- Defective windscreen wiper
12- Defective speedometer
Four hours after, I called Mrs. Murray for an update, she said a new set of plates were made to conform with what the police required, but her fitness certificate which was revoked cannot be returned to her. Guess why? The rank that took it was not at the station when she returned with her new plates. The station didn’t know where he was. She secured his number and texted him to return her fitness, but at the time of writing, he had not made contact.
This country does not belong to the civilized world. This country operates without commonsense. When the woman drove to the station and was instructed to get new plates, there and then, the officer at the desk should have been advised that upon compliance, her fitness certificate should be returned.
What an asinine country! What an asinine police force! What an asinine government!
The police give you a ticket for speeding. The police give you a ticket for driving without a driver’s licence, but the police revoke your fitness certificate and haul you into the station for a licence plate whose numbers are hugely visible, but is not the standard that the police require. And then there is the horror story. The officer has disappeared with your fitness document.
I asked Mrs. Murray if she would like me to include any comments for this article. She wanted to speak on the mystery of it not being a ticketable offence, but said as the PRO of a state company, she thinks it is not wise to make public comments on the police force. But she was pellucid – she is glad that the entire episode has been described in this column.
So what will come out of this situation? Come tomorrow, traffic ranks will stop drivers without telling them why, greeting them with the word, “papers.” The President will not act. The Prime Minister will not act. The Minister of Home Affairs (oops, sorry, Public Security) will not act, the Police Commissioner will not act. But why? They should. They are all actors anyway.

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