President Bharrat Jagdeo has said that the government is doing its part to ensure safer roads, but he added that it will take individual commitment to make the ideal situation a reality. He was speaking on Thursday, August 18 at the launch of the Road Safety Volunteer Programme, which took the form of a two-day workshop at the Guyana International Conference Centre, Liliendaal, East Coast Demerara.
“Most people think that governments can be everything to everyone, and can fix everything. “Governments are there to basically provide a level playing field, to ensure that rules are observed, and try to open up opportunities for people. It’s people themselves who have to make the difference, and this is very important for road safety. It’s the people who have to make the changes,” he said.
The conference was being held amidst a spike in road deaths and increased calls for more rigid enforcement of traffic laws. Over 80 people have died on the roads so far for this year. Jagdeo acknowledged that while road users are being urged to make changes, the police also have to improve the way they conduct themselves on the road. According to the president, there are many hardworking policemen and women on the roads, and had it not been for their efforts, the situation would be worse.
“But there are others, too, who don’t follow the rules; they don’t follow the rules that the police establish, and therefore many of them are contributors to some of the problems we have. Every time you give the person who’s drunk a break on the road because you know them or they gave a bribe to someone, then you also help to facilitate the lawlessness on the roads,” Jagdeo said.
The president added that he had asked Police Commissioner Henry Greene on several occasions to do periodic checks to ensure those deployed are living up to the highest standards of the Guyana Police Force. According to the president, they cannot argue for change if they are involved in wrongdoings. That change, he added, has to come about in people’s lifestyles.
“What we have to do in Guyana is not just an issue of awareness. It is a lifestyle issue, a mindset issue that we have to work on. So we will pass the legislation, and we have passed some of the toughest pieces of legislation in the world … we will tackle infrastructure, and all of these would hopefully make it easier and safer for people to drive on the road.
“We will step up the awareness programmes; but unless we change our mindset in this country, we’re not going to get the maximum results that we can get. And results here means the prevention of loss of lives,” the president said.
He added that he hoped the workshop would examine the issue of getting people to take greater responsibility for their actions.
Also speaking at the event was Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee, who noted that the volunteer programme was born out of a request the president made of the Guyana National Road Safety Council (GNRSC) last October. The minister added that the programme is part of the government’s wider strategy to tackle road safety, and it should not be taken in isolation.
“This activity together with the laws that have been passed in the National Assembly to deal with road safety … and we also recently passed a law which is yet to be assented to by the president in respect of traffic wardens to assist the Guyana Police Force,” Rohee said.
