GEORGETOWN – Drivers who slipped through the licensing system without earning it are now on notice. President Dr. Irfaan Ali announced Tuesday that anyone who obtained a licence through improper channels has six weeks to turn themselves in and restart the process legally, or risk prosecution, licence suspension, and public exposure.
The warning came during the Guyana Police Force’s annual Christmas Breakfast, where the President revealed that new digital audits have uncovered major flaws in how licences were issued.
The high-tech system, built to track every step of a licence application, was developed in partnership with the Guyana Revenue Authority, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Public Service, and the Government Efficiency & Implementation Unit.
Ali said the system was tested on a sample audit focused solely on driver’s licences, and what they found was “deeply troubling.” With data pulled from GRA records and national testing logs, investigators discovered large discrepancies between theory tests taken and licences granted.
One example highlighted by the President showed that while only 150 applicants passed the written exam, somehow 450 individuals walked away with certificates to move onto the practical test.“Something is clearly wrong,” Ali said. “We have the full list of persons who received practical certificates despite never passing their theoretical exam.”Ali insists this is the first step in a wider move to clean up corruption in public systems.“The only way to beat corruption is to prosecute all parties involved,” he declared.Drivers who bypassed legal procedures are invited to surrender voluntarily within the six-week window. After that deadline, the government will publicly publish the names of violators and initiate legal action.As the post-audit work continues, Ali has promised to fully disclose all findings to the public once the wider review is completed.
