Motorists with outstanding traffic tickets will be unable to renew their road licences, certificates of fitness or drivers’ licences at the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), as measures are being put in place to enforce the requirement.
Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Mohabir Anil Nandlall, SC, announced the move during his ‘Issues in the News’ programme on Tuesday evening.
He cited figures from the Traffic Chief Mahendra Singh, showing that only 49,326 of the 88,332 tickets issued by the Guyana Police Force (GPF) have been paid, about 56 per cent. That leaves more than 39,000 unpaid.
“Unpaid tickets will not go without consequences,” the AG said.
Any vehicle with an outstanding traffic ticket will be denied renewal of its road licence and certificate of fitness. Similarly, anyone named on an unpaid ticket will be unable to renew their driver’s licence.
The AG stated that motorists cannot expect the police to issue tickets instead of detaining them and then ignore those tickets.
“That is a serious state of affairs. The laws of this country must be obeyed,” he said.
The AG renewed his call for Commissioner of Police Clifton Hicken and the Traffic Chief to instruct officers not to detain motorists or their vehicles for alleged offences that can be dealt with by issuing a ticket.
He said he had discussed with the Traffic Chief the possibility of expanding the list of offences for which tickets can be issued, reducing the need for detentions.
The AG explained that an officer who unlawfully detains a person or vehicle commits both a criminal offence and a civil wrong and may face criminal charges and a lawsuit.