Transport Commissioner on Trinidad licensing officers in Tobago: 'We were invited by police'

TRANSPORT Commissioner Clive Clarke says he does not want to get into any semantics in relation to the debate on whether or not licensing officers from Trinidad should be given permission to carry out road exercises in Tobago.

He said in his opinion Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan has thoroughly ventilated the issue.

“I don’t want to comment on the issue of whether the transport commissioner needs permission to come to Tobago,” Clarke told Sunday Newsday.

“I just want to go back to the fact that the Minister of Works and Transport and the permanent secretary, at a press conference, had already addressed that matter, hence I really don’t want to be going back and forth with any debate with the chief secretary and the TTPS because as a ministry that matter was addressed. I don’t want to spend much time discussing that.”

He was responding to Chief Secretary Farley Augustine’s statement that things can “go sour quickly” after ACP Collis Hazel’s declaration during a television interview earlier this week that no permission is needed for licensing officers to operate on the island.

Trinidad-based licensing officers arrived in Tobago on August 1 – Emancipation Day – to conduct road traffic exercises alongside their Tobago counterparts in different parts of the island.

The exercises are being carried out to the ire of many commuters, who have described the licensing officers as “white shirts.” They have also described them as disrespectful and intimidating.

The transport department in Tobago falls under the jurisdiction of the THA and not the Transport Commissioner.

On Saturday, Clarke said licensing officers are in Tobago on the invitation of the island’s police division, headed by Hazel.

He said, “What I want to say though is that we are currently in Tobago on a joint exercise on the invitation of the TTPS, who has invited licensing to come to treat with specific matters that are life-threatening, specific matters to deal with major traffic offences, specific matters dealing with the fact that there are a number of persons who have been driving disqualified, persons have been driving without their drivers’ permit, persons have been driving with the wrong class of license.”

Clarke added on Friday, two people appeared before a Tobago magistrate, one of whom was driving without being issues a drivers’ permit while the other was driving with demerit points.

“These are just some of the things that we have been treating with in Tobago.”

To address these issues, among others, Clarke said his officers have practically been going house to house meeting with people and giving out literature about traffic offences and the importance of driving safely.

“We were extremely welcomed by the people.”

Clarke said through the head of the Tobago Division, they also met with insurance agencies as well as the taxi drivers and car rental associations to address several worrying developments.

“We are seeing that sometimes we are picking up foreigners that sometimes do not have the right class from their country to drive the type of vehicles we are seeing here and I, as transport commissioner, if I am aware of that, through the statistics I am seeing through the system that the ministry would have put in place, and I turn a blind eye, I will not be living up to my responsibility as transport commissioner.”

He believes the licensing officers have been doing “good work” in Tobago.

While he could not say when exactly the exercise will end, Clarke said they usually last for periods of about six to eight days.

“We have been here since August 1. So soon we may be wrapping up once all things are equal.”

In April, Augustine took issue with the manner in which Trinidad-based licensing officers were operating in Tobago. He accused them of terrorising Tobagonians and issuing tickets for minor infractions that could have been dealt with through reprimands or warnings.

That exercise, which was carried out between April 13-19, was coordinated by Clarke, Snr Supt Jackman and ASP Joseph.