Monday, 10 February 2014

National dialogue: Igbo ‘ll send its first 11 –Ohanaeze


Exactly 100 days after Lagos state government commenced the re-accreditation of passenger buses and 42 days into the new year, owners, drivers and conductors across the state, have continued to ignore government’s directive on  the exercise.
The exercise which commenced November last year, marked the start of the second phase of implementation of the  the state’s Road Traffic Law 2012 aimed at improving the availability, safety, security and to improve service delivery of public transportation in the state.
The re-accreditation of the passenger commercial vehicle owners, drivers and conductors was expected to last for two months ending December 31, 2013.

For the drivers and conductors, they were expected to visit any of the five Lagos State Drivers Institute, LASDRI. While the commercial bus owners would visit the 21 Vehicle Inspection Units in the state.
At the expiration of the set date, National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, Lagos, appealed to the government to extend the deadline.
The government yielded, extending  the deadline to February ending but the expected turnout is still far from being achieved.
When Vanguard visited the registration points, while some had few drivers and vehicle owners to attend to, others had none. Some of the officials at the centres said that the transporters weren’t turning up for the exercise.
Sources said that at the expiration of the said date, about 90 percent of bus drivers and conductors shunned government’s directives.
Mr. kehinde Olawale, a vehicle owner/driver, said;  “I will visit the centers later. For now, I want to concentrate on how to make enough money to offset my debt.”
A vehicle owner, Mr. Ebenezer Afolabi, who spoke to Vanguard  lamented over the exercise, saying “When I arrived here (Iba VIO zone) at about 9:00 am. I was told the internet service was bad. I am leaving the now (12:00 pm) because I have to repair my vehicle.
A conductor, who identified himself simply as Chukwudi, said; “The government needs more enlightenment. Larger percent of my colleagues including me haven’t gone for the accreditation. I got the news late. And for now, I cannot leave my work to undergo any exercise that has no financial reward.”
Responding, Commissioner for Transportation, Mr. Kayode Opeifa lamented that larger percent of the commercial passenger bus owners and drivers were yet to comply with the government directives.
According to Opeifa, “We want to formalize everything. This is the only way we can know those that are truly passenger transporters. As we move towards mass transit, there is need for us to know them to cater for their needs.
“Only 60 percent of the taxi drivers and owners have visited the VIO and LASDRI offices for re-accreditation” he added.
17, 000 commercial vehicles registered so far
Chief Vehicle Inspection Officer, CVIO, Lagos, Mr. Gbolahan Toriola in an exclusive interview with Vanguard  said “The compliance level is increasing everyday and over 17,000 commercial vehicles have registered so far.”
According to Opeifa; “Full enforcement of the law would begin soon. The enforcement is in line with Regulation 41 of the Lagos Road Traffic Law 2012.”
He said that the state government has been magnanimous to have relaxed the enforcement of the law, adding that when the full enforcement commence, anyone found not to have complied with the directive will be appropriately sanctioned.
The commissioner said that the non-compliance by the transporters is hindering the take off of the second phase of the Traffic Law 2012, in which registered operators would be issued with a commercial vehicle passenger operator license by the government.
Introduction of passenger insurance
According to Opeifa, “Also, this is hindering introduction of the passenger insurance policy. Every commercial vehicle owner must insure the passengers. This will give the passengers confidence to board vehicle without fear. The vehicle insurance they sign to don’t cover passengers. So we need to force the owners to embark on these. And we don’t want owners to register vehicle in Ogun and use it in Lagos.”
700 commercial vehicles impounded
Vanguard gathered that a partial enforcement of the law has led to 700 commercial buses been impounded by the government agents.
Toriola confirmed this saying;  “Over 700 commercial passenger vehicles have been impounded,” adding that they wouldn’t be released until the owners comply with the directives.
Source: Vanguard

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