The high number of road accidents in the country is of major worry for President Irfaan Ali, and during his address to the opening of the Police Officers’ Conference this morning, he raised the issue.
He said while the Guyana Police Force has made improvements in the areas of human resource development and the execution of its mandate to serve and protect, the increasing number of road accidents remains a major problem.
President Ali said an innovative and comprehensible approach is needed to effectively tackle the carnage on the country’s roadways.
“It is unfortunate that you have to find innovative way of enforcement when it is within the power of all of us, within the power of every driver, every road user, to act and behave in a manner that is befitting of what is expected of them on the roadways,” the President said.
In 2023, a total of 217 persons lost their lives in motor vehicular accidents and incidents on Guyana’s roadways – representing an increase of more than 50%.
Speeding and driving under the influence of alcohol, are among the leading causes of road accidents, according to the Police Force.
President Ali said the situation is further compounded by an increase in traffic.
“I don’t think there is any more an off-peak moment on the East Bank Highway. All hours in the night and the number of trucks, the weight of the trucks, all of these are matters that we are not unaware of but matters that compound the situation,” President Ali.
While noting that the rate of development cannot be slowed down, the President said it is important, however, to find a balance amid the developments.
“We find ourselves in a fortunate, and unfortunate situation, where policy making, decision making, judicial services, police services, all must now operate at a speed and a pace that the institutional arrangement, and the system was not built to support. And that is a fundamental issue that we have to resolve. When you look at the size of our fiscal implementation space, look at the size of the budget for every agency, you will understand that the system, our institutional systems were never built to support this magnitude of expansion and growth,” he reasoned.
According to the President, the use of technology such as additional CCTV cameras, could support more monitoring of communities.
He also noted the importance of the communities working along with the Police Force.
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