Tuesday, May 10, 2016
By KHRISNA VIRGIL
Tribune Staff Reporter
kvirgil@tribunemedia.net
IF further investigations on the findings of a recent audit report into the operations of the Road Traffic Department uncover activity of a criminal nature, officials are prepared to prosecute those involved to the fullest extent of the law.
In response to a newly released auditor general’s report over several aspects of the department, Ross Smith, road traffic controller, said while a number of weaknesses were identified, he is in the process of setting the foundation for a corrective plan.
Meanwhile Transport and Aviation Minister Glenys Hanna Martin told the House of Assembly that the damning results of the report are attributed to an antiquated system, which is largely manually operated.
“Mr Speaker, the findings in this report point to and unfortunately repeated age-old issues which are largely directly attributable to the antiquated operational features of that department which in turn create systematic internal weaknesses,” she said before tabling the report.
“This is exacerbated by the fact that hundreds of thousands of vehicles are inspected and licenced annually by the hands and oversight of this manual process. The Road Traffic Department today despite its critical importance and despite its complex network of activities, functions almost exclusively on a manual, paper-based system,” she said.
“This mode of operation seriously impairs the department’s efficiency, challenges standards of customer service, can lead to the compromise of the integrity of systems and unfortunately creates the potential for fraud.”
During a press conference at the department, Mr Smith said: “Once we find information of a criminal nature it has to be reported to the police and the police will deal with the matter and bring any necessary charges against those individuals.”
“The auditor general’s findings identified a number of weaknesses in the internal controls of the department,” Mr Smith added. “I am in the process of reviewing the report and over the next several days, I will meet with representatives from the Auditor General’s Department with a view to setting the foundation for a corrective action plan.
“Since the recommendations contained in the auditor general’s report relative to the Abaco office, several new procedures have now been implemented which have overtaken some of the recommendations made in the auditor’s report.”
He was referring to the audit report of the Road Traffic Department in Abaco at the Marsh Harbour office.
Last November, The Tribune reported that at the time of the audit, there were 17,502 validation, inspection and decal stickers missing from the department’s physical inventory valued at approximately $656,710. Overall, that audit found the total weaknesses in the department resulted in the loss of a proper audit trail for stickers and contributed to the department’s inability to account for stickers and other revenue generating documents valued at $662,705.
Minister Hanna Martin said at the time that Royal Bahamas Police Force officials were probing missing resources. However, it is unclear of whether anyone was found guilty of any wrongdoing.
Mr Smith added: “On a concurrent basis, I will be reviewing the findings to determine what implications there are regarding the Road Traffic Department personnel, and where those findings are substantiated, immediate action will be taken in accordance with Public Service procedures and the criminal law.”
To correct the inefficiencies of the department, Minister Hanna Martin said officials have already commenced actions to correct all issues. The new system cost taxpayers $8.3m.
This includes a new custom designed driver’s licence system that has been completed and is now being tested, she said.
“The construction of the vehicle licence system which commenced in December 2015 was completed about three weeks ago.
“The user acceptance testing will commence here in The Bahamas on June 20. The systems will begin roll out and go live on October 3 for vehicle licence system and the drivers licence system on December 1.”
She said the government is also in the process of revamping the system, which manages license plates.
Comments
cmiller says...
They only try to do their jobs when a scandal breaks. Scandal, after scandal, after scandal, after scandal.
Posted 10 May 2016, 2:49 p.m. Suggest removal
sheeprunner12 says...
Technology does not solve a human ethics problem ......... the typical Bahamian civil servant lacks moral and ethical integrity ........ this is the result of the "all for me, baby" PLP culture created since Majority Rule ............. another IT contract cannot solve this RTD problem ..... if Bahamian criminals are breaking out of tried and proven ankle bracelets, a computer program at RTD will be chicken feed
Posted 10 May 2016, 3:24 p.m. Suggest removal
Well_mudda_take_sic says...
Re-post: All of this fraud is happening right under the nose of Hanna-Martin.....this grossly incompetent MP should have been barred from holding any cabinet post many many years ago. The voters in her constituency need to wake up and understand that re-electing her time and time again has done absolutely nothing for their well-being. The people in her poor constituency who desperately need welfare and other social benefits are going without them because of all of the fraud and corruption happening right under the nose of Hanna-Martin that depletes and squanders vital financial resources needed elsewhere in our society by those truly in need of food, clothing, medicine and shelter. Career politicians like Hanna-Martin live the life of the political elite while leaving the rest of us living in abject misery! This is but one MP the voters need to reject outright in the next general election. The one with the short stubby grubby dirty sticky fingers remains at the very top of the list though, as does Christie himself!
Posted 10 May 2016, 3:36 p.m. Suggest removal
sheeprunner12 says...
Just look at the constituencies that the typical long serving "safe seat" PLP MP represents ....... generally inner-city, black, low income, uneducated, welfare-dependent, subsidy reliant, SLOP-loving voters .......... and what do they get for this??
Just look at Centreville, Bain/Grants Town, Englerston, Ft. Charlotte, Nassau Village, Yellow Elder, Pinewood, Marathon, Fox Hill, Andros, Cat Island, Exuma, MICAL, Bimini ........ the most backward, crime ridden areas of the country .............. what a shame on a so-called "progressive" party
Posted 10 May 2016, 3:48 p.m. Suggest removal
Reality_Check says...
Re-post: The Auditor General should have conducted an investigation into how many of Hanna-Martin's supporters who are registered voters in her constituency are employed by RTD and other government departments and agencies for which she has ministerial responsibility. This is one sleazy corrupt woman who learned her political trickery from her father. Were it not for A. D. Hanna's willingness to engage in nepotism to ply his daughter's way in politics, the Bahamian people would have been spared the costly consequences of Hanna-Martin's incompetence as a career politician. The only thing this potcake of a politician ever came equipped with is a loud mouth; she is well known to bark, yap and yelp ad nauseam whenever hit by a stone! Hanna-Martin and Leslie Miller have an awful lot in common in that regard. And they both have a serious deficit of grey matter upstairs!
Posted 10 May 2016, 3:39 p.m. Suggest removal
Hogfish says...
Hanna so stink and beyond wutless.
How long she been in the post and now she blamin the same system shes been in control for years.
Officials need to investigate and lock her stink self up!
Posted 10 May 2016, 3:39 p.m. Suggest removal
Emac says...
Yawn...
Posted 10 May 2016, 4:18 p.m. Suggest removal
SP says...
**............... WHAT has Minister Glenys Hanna Martin accomplished in 4 years? ...............**
The reference to an "antiquated system, which is largely manually operated" and well known to be totally corrupt has been around since 1973.
Forty three years later Glenys Hanna Martin is now reporting to the House of Assembly “This mode of operation seriously impairs the department’s efficiency, challenges standards of customer service, *can lead to the compromise of the integrity of systems and unfortunately creates the potential for fraud.”*
Who and what did it take to wake her up?
Just wait until the the auditor general get around to the education system where 100's of millions has been routinely disappearing for decades and everyone in government is well aware of the leakage, know where the leaks are and continue to allow massive pilferage of the public purse.
Posted 10 May 2016, 6:27 p.m. Suggest removal
ThisIsOurs says...
Have they prosecuted anyone for the post office heist yet? Vasili got her sentence pretty quickly, so it must be possible. They know who stole the money, they know how much he stole and they know how he did it.
Posted 11 May 2016, 5:01 a.m. Suggest removal
B_I_D___ says...
What was the final outcome of the big Road Traffic bust a few years back with staff selling inspection stickers and such on the side? Guess not much if they continue to do it!!
Posted 11 May 2016, 8:45 a.m. Suggest removal
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