–Minister Edghill says

PRIME Minister Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips, along with several other government officials are expected to head a sub-committee which will ensure that Guyana’s roadways and its people are safe.

Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill made this revelation during the 2024 end-of-year press conference on Saturday at the Pegasus Suites in Georgetown.

He said, “Right now, I’ve taken a paper to the Cabinet, which Cabinet has asked the Prime Minister to head a sub-committee, which includes the traffic officers from every division, and a number of Cabinet members, including myself, Minister Robeson Benn, Dr. Ashni Singh, Mr. Collin Croal. And we are looking at an extensive transportation, safety mechanism.”

This mechanism includes ensuring there are traffic lights along the new highways, pedestrian crossings, traffic safety for schools, etc.

Additionally, during the 2024 end-of-year press conference, President Dr. Irfaan Ali said that there will be further advancements in making Guyana’s roadways safer, and assured the public that more will be done.

The President discussed several proactive initiatives that are being pursued to improve road safety, and the measures that will aid drivers. As it relates to the state-of-the-art 24-hour surveillance cameras on the major roadways, the Head of State noted that in the testing phase, there were more than 60,000 instances where people were speeding.

With speeding continuing to remain a primary focus, Dr. Ali said that soon, citizens will see electronic speed meters on the roadways, which will tell them to slow down.

Although there is still more to be done, Guyana has seen a significant decrease in harm on its roads, and the President delved into these statistics. While giving credit to the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and those in the traffic department for keeping the roads safe, the President said that, up to press time, in fatal accidents, the country has seen a decrease of 20 per cent from last year.

In deaths, there was a decrease of 24 per cent from last year; in serious accidents a decrease of two per cent, and minor accidents decreased by three per cent. Looking at the enforcement side, there has been an increase of 37 per cent in terms of cases made, Dr. Ali said.

With greater policing work, he also noted that there were 42,748 speeding tickets issued.
On the topic of summons issued, there has been an increase by over 3,000 since last year. In 2024, 13,364 summons were executed, the President said, and for warrants, 2,398 were executed.

On that note, he said: “So, you can see that the enforcement aspect; the policing aspect has also improved substantially, and this takes a lot of effort. Of course, this is not only about the police force; it’s about individual choices and individual action.”
The reduction in deaths and all levels of accidents are as a result of a number of interventions, the President said.
There will soon be the intensification of the traffic education programme, the strict enforcement of traffic laws with no discretion or consideration given to unlawful behaviour and, action, the use of technology in having a smart country, intelligent traffic cameras and, body cameras, and improved road infrastructure.

There is also a social media education programme, the suspension of driver’s licences, and the introduction of the electronic-based theoretical examination for prospective drivers, which gives faster feedback for students to customise the exam rules. Stressing the importance of responsibility, the Head of State called on citizens to report errant drivers.