TRANSPORT Govt Plans to Lift Permit Freeze

JYOTI PRATIBHA
NADI
The freeze on permits for taxi, carriers and other forms of transport will be lifted, but after the Anti-Corruption Ministry tables its report on countrywide consultations with the Prime Minister’s Office. Speaking at the Fiji Van and Carrier Operators Association annual general meeting, Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said the Government was determined to put right decades of neglect which dogged the industry.
He said that they did not want to lift the freeze on permits before guidelines on issuance and other related matters were cleared.
This was received positively by association members at Fun World Plaza in Nadi. Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said the Government was adamant about getting the processes right.
“What the Bainimarama Government is concerned about is that if a Government official or regulatory authority like LTA makes a decision about any ordinary member of public, the application must be available to everybody and the manner in which it is processed must be done fairly,” he said.
“We are yet to go to Labasa and Levuka and once those areas are completed, we will then compile a report and hand it over to the Prime Minister and make various recommendations regarding that.”
Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said the problems the association faced were similar to those dogging drivers of taxis, omnibuses and others and the Government would look at ways to resolve these issues.
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