The Tribune

By KHRISNA RUSSELL

Deputy Chief Reporter

krussell@tribunemedia.net

THE Ministry of Transport and Local Government will most likely be requesting more money in its budget for the 2019-2020 fiscal year to facilitate a move of the Road Traffic Department from its temporary main location.

According to Cabinet minister Renward Wells, who has road traffic in his portfolio, there is an ongoing assessment of how best to facilitate moving the department from the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium.

Officials also want to open a new road traffic satellite office in the eastern part of the island.

He was asked yesterday outside Cabinet if his ministry would need more money as the government prepares to present its new budget in the coming weeks. “We may look at a slight increase in certain areas certainly in the Road Traffic Department because we needed to - like the General Post Office - the Road Traffic Department needs to move out of the stadium,” Mr Wells said in response to a question from The Tribune.

“There were plans for it to move to Harrold Road but we are now looking as to how we can best make that move happen. So we are going to be looking at to where we can... move the Road Traffic Department and we are also looking to put a satellite station in the east, so we are looking for a building that we’d be able to have road traffic services for persons who live in the eastern part of New Providence.”

Mr Wells further addressed speculation that certain employees from the department were redeployed because of corrupt practices. “I am always interested in making a department efficient and having persons operate where there is best fit. We made some moves in order to bring efficiency and to allow for the upward mobility of persons in the Road Traffic Department and persons were moved for their upward mobility.

“Some of the individuals actually requested redeployment and for those we were assisting in that and so government is always interested in how we can get the best efficient system and that is why some of the moves took place.”

He also said: “I will say this: I am not one to believe that you transfer people on hearsay or innuendo. I don’t believe that you move quote unquote corrupt individuals from one place to the next. If you believe that someone is corrupt and you have the evidence for such then you let them go home because the inference is that you are just shifting problems from one place to the next. I don’t operate like that.

“I believe that when you move persons it should always be for the efficiency of the department.”\