–Minister Benn says

MINISTER of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn, has said more stringent systems will be put in place to get operators of public transportation to conduct business in an acceptable manner.

Those remarks were made on Friday when he addressed the National Road Safety Stakeholders’ Forum, in the presence of the mini-bus association.

“We believe and we want the persons who are going to be driving us to work, to school, to the market places and for other services that they should be dressed properly, that they should speak properly, that they should be polite, that they should not be aggressive in terms of handling their passengers, but more importantly in respect of how they operate the vehicles, the minibuses and the taxis,” he said.

The forum sought to engage stakeholders to develop a comprehensive plan of action to reduce traffic accidents and deaths by 50 per cent by 2030; this plan would guide the council for the next five years.

The plan will be used to mitigate offences of transportation operators who drink and drive, as well as play vulgar music.

With Guyana experiencing steadfast transformation, Minister Benn has urged citizens to change the existing culture to complement the country’s development.

“Guyana is at a new paradigm, we have to operate in a new framework. The developments which are occurring in our country suggest or rather, identify that we are in a new paradigm of cultural change, behavioural practices at the social level, at the economic level, in how we comport ourselves, in how we engage people who come into the country,” the minister said.

Meanwhile, the government in its effort to curb road accidents has increased its subvention to the Guyana National Road Safety Council from $3 million to over $11 million. (DPI)