President Dr. Irfaan Ali has announced a six-week amnesty period for individuals who obtained driver’s licences without properly passing the required examinations.
The President made the announcement on Tuesday while addressing ranks of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) at the Force’s Traditional Christmas Breakfast, where he outlined troubling findings from a post-audit of the country’s driver’s licensing process.
Dr. Ali said the ongoing audit of the licensing system has already unearthed glaring discrepancies between those who sat and passed the theoretical exam, those certified at the practical stage, and those who ultimately received licences.
Using technology to “triangulate” the process, he explained that the new system can now track every step, from the theory test to the practical exam, straight to licence issuance.
“We can tell all those who wrote the theoretical exam and passed, we can tell all those who got a practical certificate, and then all those who actually got a licence,” the President said, noting that this data matching has exposed serious weaknesses.
Giving one example, Dr. Ali pointed out that in at least one instance, 150 people passed the theory test, yet 400 practical certificates were issued.
“If you have 150 people passing a theory, but 400 people getting the practical certificate, something is wrong,” he told the gathering, adding that those findings will be made public so that the system understands “where those weaknesses are.”
According to the President, the audit has already identified individuals who obtained practical certificates and, ultimately, licences without ever passing the theory exam.
He said those people will now be given a limited window to regularise their status.
“We have all the names of persons who got a practical paper but never passed the theoretical exam,” Dr Ali disclosed. “We are going to give those persons in the public domain six weeks to surrender themselves and go through back the process, or after that we are going to publish all the names in the newspaper, suspend the licence and prosecute them.”
The President stressed that this six-week period effectively amounts to an amnesty, after which there will be zero tolerance.
“That is the only way we can beat this corruption,” he said firmly. “We have to prosecute all parties involved.”
Dr Ali repeatedly underscored that modern technology is at the heart of the clean-up of the driver’s licensing system, describing it as both an “aid” and a “post-service delivery mechanism” that adds an unprecedented layer of accountability.
“Technology is your aid, technology is your friend,” he told the ranks. “It allows us to reject the entire system and add a layer of accountability that is remarkable and second to none.”
He noted that the digital tools now in use within the system have enabled authorities to build a complete picture of how licences were issued and pinpoint where manipulation and fraud may have occurred.
The President added that the probe did not stop at the examination stages. He revealed that the authorities have also examined the GRA records, which he said issued more licences than the number of candidates who passed both the theory and practical tests.
