Two of the biggest nightmares in Georgetown

Jul 08, 2023 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

Kaieteur News – There are two things which the present Commissioner of Police should do before he proceeds on retirement, whenever that is. If the Commissioner of Police does these two things, he would further endear himself to public and leave behind a solid legacy.

He has already won plaudits for his work with disadvantaged communities. And he has proven that he is professional when he accepted a posting under the APNU outside of normal police duties and which was perceived in some quarters as sidelining him.

The APNU and the AFC had tried to make him a scapegoat for the unlawful and lawless protest which eventually led to the deaths of three persons on Linden in 2012. The then Opposition had tried desperately to make, the now Commissioner of Police and the then Home Affairs Minister, scapegoats for the deaths of the three persons.

But as is said, “You can’t keep a good man down.” And the Commissioner is a good man who has proven himself bigger and better than his detractors.

But there are 2 things which can vastly improve his approval ratings before he heads into retirement. The first one is to fix the situation at the Passport Office. The present system is a disgrace and is unsuited to the modern age where every citizen is entitled to have a Guyanese passport. It is management problem which requires tweaking to work. If that problem cannot be fixed then nothing can.

Persons are still forced to wake up in in the wee hours of the morning, and head down to the Passport Office so as to guarantee that they would be served before the daily quota of applications are exceeded. They arrive when it is still dark and have to have to join a line stand for hours until the gates and doors of the Passport Office Open, at which time they are allowed inside the building. They must then sit and wait again until normal working hours for the processing of their documents.

Having a daily quota of applications should not be entertained in this day and age. The Passport Office has to do better and it can do better. Systems need to be improved but more importantly the receipt of applications should be done online and persons should pay their processing fee at a commercial bank and then be given dates for biometrics and uplifting their passports.

No one should have to join a line to hand in their passport application and pay the processing fee, then have to wait for biometrics and then to return another day to uplift the passport.

Persons should join one line, present a computerized barcode which would allow for their online application to be retrieved. The person attending to the application should process the biometrics and check the details of the online application.

There is also no need for biometrics to be done only at a few places. Biometrics can be done on the East Coast, in West Demerara and on the Essequibo Coast. This will ease the burden on Georgetown.

The second problem which the Commissioner should fix before he demits office is the traffic problem. He has proven when he was Commander of ‘A’ Division that he leads from the front, and he has been able to bring some resolution to the traffic woes on the East Bank of Demerara.

But the traffic problem is now not simply confined to the East Bank of Demerara. It is now an epidemic in West Coast Demerara, East Coast Demerara and worst of all Georgetown. Accidents and road deaths are also on the increase.

The city in particular needs a traffic plan. It is chaotic and trucks and heavy-duty vehicles need to be prohibited during certain hours. The movement of containers should be confined to nights. This may see as harsh medicine but it is necessary to address the serious traffic congestion in the city.

Should the Commissioner of Police make progress in these two areas – passports and traffic – he can be assured of a legacy that will endear him further to the Guyanese people. Addressing these two problems will also bring much relief to the public.

Over to you Commissioner of Police!

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of this newspaper and its affiliates.)

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Commissioner, legacy, Peeping Tom, proceeds, public

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