By ADRIAN GIBSON

ajbahama@hotmail.com

I HAVE seen a preponderance of red plate vehicles on the road and, more often than not, they are not performing any official tasks but are instead filled with little children, parked in places where they shouldn’t be or, if one observes the driver, being used for personal errands.

Clearly, many of the folks who drive these government vehicles have decided that they either aren’t getting a car of their own or that since they get free gas, they will park their cars and abuse taxpayers.

There appears to be no obvious rules that are followed in terms of when government vehicles ought to be used. As it stands, many drivers of such vehicles seem to view them as private vehicles with red plates. A very sweet deal indeed. What’s more, they get free gas!

I’m told that during the last Free National Movement administration, Mr Ingraham gave his Cabinet ministers a car but they had to buy their own gas. I’m willing to place a reasonable bet that that is currently not the case.

There needs to be published rules and guidelines of which the public is aware in terms of the use of government vehicles. It is only then that we can stop the idle speculation. It is only with such a clarification that we would be able to identify those people who are blatantly taking advantage of the public purse.

Now, I accept that in rare instances there are posts where a car is given without restriction or limitation because the car comes with the post in lieu of a higher salary. However, those instances are rare.

I am tired of seeing taxpayers’ vehicles parked at the cinema, in a gas station yard full of kids (I recently saw a police Ford Explorer at Esso South Beach filled with small children), late night rendezvous on the beach, late night trolling, parked downtown outside a club or a restaurant, etc.

While I’m at it, I note that a certain car – with the licence plate CM4 – is constantly parked on a verge downtown, many times parked on the road in front of the Hilton business centre and hindering traffic, particularly during rush hour. The CM on the plate no doubt means cabinet minister but no police officer gives the driver of that vehicle a ticket. If I park my car there, I would get a ticket and be towed away. No one is above the law and it doesn’t matter what position they hold.

Why doesn’t the driver or occupant of CM4 either drive the car 30 feet further towards the wharf or simply find parking elsewhere?