Jack wants forensic investigation of Licensing Department

Jack Warner told reporters on Friday he has written to Attorney General Anand Ramlogan asking for a forensic investigation into allegations of corruption at the Licensing Department.

He said he has also asked the Anti-Corruption Bureau of the Police Service go into the Licensing Department and investigate the complaints which have been made.

Warner said since taking office as Works and Transport minister he has been inundated with reports of corruption at the department. He listed six specific complaints, adding that there are many others.

1. Vehicles are not properly inspected, therefore, unsuitable vehicles are on the road, posing a serious risk to life and limb. At least 15 touts are working with some of the licensing officers and receive as much as $13,000 per transaction
2. Someone can pay between $2,000 and $6,000 for the transfer of a vehicle. They get what is called a ‘dummy’ ticket for the transfer, and six months down the road, they realise their vehicle has not been transferred
3. People pay between $1,500 and $2,000 for illegal driving permits that are issued without exams or driving tests. Several foreign Chinese workers got permits this way
4. Dealers falsify documents and illegally assemble knocked down vehicles, with some dealers making as much as $100,000 on each vehicle. There are as many as 40,000 such vehicles on the nation’s roads. Unscrupulous dealers pay officials an average of $25,000 to falsify documents
5. Some commercial vehicles never go through the inspection proces
6. People have had to spend an entire day at the licensing office to transact business

Warner said he plans on establishing a Motor Vehicle Authority, which should be in place by November if Parliament approves the legislation by then.

The authority would make some important changes including:

• The banning of parking of containers on roadsides to be unstuffed
• The banning of parking of heavy duty trucks (trailers, tandem axles) on the roadside
• An end to the practice of using roads as mechanic shops, for storing construction material and for mixing concrete

Transport Commissioner Reuben Cato told reporters he did everything possible to deal with corruption and pledged to work with the minister to end the corruption.

Deputy Permanent Secretary in the works ministry, Jaggernauth Soon, said with the new Motor Vehicle Authority, the system will be modernised with high-tech number plates, state-of-the-art driver's permits and a process to prevent inappropriate transactions.

Warner also issued an invitation Friday to all persons interested in the regularisation of the "PH" transport service to attend a meeting on Sunday morning at his office in Port of spain, starting at 10 o'clock.