00:00Former Minister of Transport Rohan Sinanon says he is not opposed to stronger penalties or modernizing the system.
00:08However, he insists that major policy shifts must involve proper consultation with key stakeholders before decisions are taken.
00:18If it is that a committee came up with these new finds, then they must have done some sort of research.
00:26Did it come from the Transport Commissioner? Did it come from the team at the Ministry of Transport?
00:34And if there was consultation with everybody, then they would have reasons for it.
00:40However, there is a perception that this came from the Ministry of Finance, and there was no team.
00:48Responding to recent claims by Transport Minister Eli Zakul that the demerit points system was unfair and ineffective,
00:57Sinanon says the record tells a different story.
01:01He notes that Cabinet had approved enforcement measures, including the publication of offenders' names where they could not be located and served.
01:10And I'm still in support of the demerit points system because it is a system that has been tried and tested all over the world,
01:19and all major countries use that system.
01:22And we did see a reduction in rogue fatalities.
01:28We did see a start, a shift, a culture shift in Trinidad and Tobago.
01:33He also addressed concerns raised by the Prime Minister about rogue officers exploiting the system,
01:40acknowledging that bad actors will always exist.
01:43However, Sinanon tells the Morning Edition,
01:46the public deserves clarity on where the new policies originated, why penalties were doubled,
01:52and whether revenue generation is driving enforcement, stressing that consultation should have been prioritized.
01:59You must have a committee who will, somebody will suggest, you know, if we do this, this is what is going to happen,
02:06because we always know that is going to happen.
02:08I had the experience several times, and that is why a lot of times we had to go and give a moratorium,
02:13say, OK, we're going to be, you know, cracking down on this, but we're going to give you this amount of time to fix it,
02:18which is where we are this morning, and I'm happy that the Prime Minister recognized that.
02:22But again, if you had consultations with the TTPS, the Transport Commissioner, the Traffic Wardens,
02:30and everybody all on the same page, then, you know, we might have avoided a situation like this.
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