By NATARIO McKENZIE
Tribune Business Reporter
nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net
The Road Traffic Department’s principal yesterday said it had finally gotten a handle on the massive licensing backlog caused by commercial vehicle month month falling in March.
Ross Smith, its controller, told Tribune Business that the department had been working around the clock to facilitate vehicle licensing. “We’re getting there,” he said.
“We’ve been working around the clock. We just had a few companies that didn’t send in the relevant information; very few, smaller companies. We’re open every day, tired but we’re OK. We have it under wraps now. I was a bit concerned before but we’re good now.”
Tribune Business was informed by several sources that the Road Traffic Department has run out of the new vehicle license plates on several occasions.
On that issue, Mr Smith said yesterday: “We didn’t run out of plates until a few days ago. It has to do with where they are coming from. While we are building the system for the manufacturing of plates, we have to have them done through the company that we have contracted. They had some issues but they are back on track.”
The manufacturing of vehicle license plates will now be done by inmates at the Bahamas Department of Corrections, in a bid to address shortages and reduce costs.
At a press conference last week, Mr Smith said: “I believe there’s going to be significant savings; one because we have up-to-date equipment, not the old antiquated equipment.
“And so once you have equipment that is more up to date, 21st century focused, we should be able to produce plates much cheaper than we ordinarily produce them. With the actual raw material being used, along with the labour, we should be well under $10 for the production of plates.”
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