THE amendments to the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic bill 2012 was unanimously  passed in the National Assembly on Wednesday. Home Affairs Minister, Clement Rohee who piloted the bill through the House noted that the bill seeks to amend Section 18 of the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Act to provide for the renewal of motor vehicle licences on the anniversary of the date of registration of the motor vehicle, instead of the current system of issuing licences after their expiry on December 31.
According to the Home Affairs Minister, the date in relation to the payment of fees for new vehicles remains the date of the first registration.
He told the House that the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) had published notification with regards the implementation of the new system but did not have the necessary legislation in place. However, after consultation with the revenue body, the government undertook to bring the bill to the National Assembly.
Rohee believes that the amendment to the bill allows the GRA to proceed in that direction. Owners of vehicles will not have difficulty with the amendment as it will ease the congestion taking place annually at the Licence Revenue office and some police stations.
“This bill will remove that inconvenience owners of motor vehicles  because if the vehicles are going to proceed on the anniversary date it would make it much easier to have the paper work done without waiting long hours”, Rohee explained.
He disclosed that approximately 94,000 motor vehicles licences are required to be processed over a three month period, noting that he does not believe that the present system is doing any justice, taking into consideration too that numerous vehicles are brought into the country everyday. The only way to deal with such a situation is to amend the act, Rohee opined.
He said too that the congestion creates an impression that those who administer the act are not effective in dealing with the problem.
Rohee went on to state that the GRA has moved from a manual system to an electronic system in dealing with the new act, which will in turn make work easier.
Meanwhile, Alliance For Change (AFC) Member of Parliament, Khemraj Ramjattan informed the House of their support for the amendment.
Supporting Rohee’s presentation, Member of Parliament from the government’s bench Manzoor Nadir noted that the amendment to the bill will benefit some 120,000 vehicle owners, noting that in the last 5 years some 70,000 vehicles have been registered, while annually 14,000 vehicles are being registered.
Meanwhile, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Member, Winston Felix noted that the party is in support of the bill but accused the government of breaking the law. He said that the law was implemented by the GRA without amendment to the law.
He cautioned the implementing agencies that though the new method will improve the situation, he hopes that the appropriate steps will be taken in addressing them. Felix also hailed the electronic implementation of the new method.
However, Rohee in response to Felix’s presentation noted that the government did not implement the new method without amendment of the act but it was the GRA which is an autonomous agency.
He did not ignore the fact that any new method will have challenges but address inadequacies as soon as they arise.