GPF gets $50M worth of enforcement equipment

The Guyana Police Force (GPF) received enforcement equipment valued at approximately $50 million to boost its traffic management and road safety efforts on Thursday.

The items were procured with financing from the InterAmerican Development Bank and will be dispatched to the various policing divisions nationwide.

The equipment includes speed guns with cameras, wheel clamps, single and dual-zone direction-sensing radars, portable speed bumps and 20 tablets to record data.

Additional items were procured for the Ministry of Public Works’ road safety interventions. These include digital speed measuring devices, LED-powered YIELD and STOP signs.

These upgrades aim to improve visibility and promote compliance with traffic regulations. They are valued at approximately $25 million.

Minister of Public Works Bishop Juan Edghill said the 2025 budget will allocate some $2 billion to procure traffic lights for key areas in Georgetown.

“You’re going to see a massive rollout of traffic lights based upon agreements with the traffic officers where the needs exist and also what is required for safety in the Georgetown area,” he explained.

Minister Edghill said the equipment is only half the solution to address the key issue of speeding in Guyana.

The minister also stressed the need for a culture shift along the roadways, recommending that citizens hold each other accountable.

“It must start with peer pressure. We have put laws in place to prevent drunk driving. We have moved the responsibility from just the reckless, careless person who wants to imbibe and then go on the road to drive,” the minister said.

Illegal Parking

The public works minister further said the items, specifically the wheel clamps, will be an instrumental part of the government’s efforts to curb haphazard parking along major thoroughfares.

He stressed that the tools handed over will mainly be used on cars and some canters.

The Ministry of Public Works is in the process of procuring 200 more wheel clamps specifically for trucks.

“We don’t want to stop economic activities. We want to make sure that while you’re doing your business the general public is safe,” he emphasised.

IDB Country Representative for Guyana Lorena Salazar also noted that citizens should be more conscious of their conduct on the roadways to curb the issue of speeding.

Commissioner of Police, Clifton Hicken and Deputy Commissioner of Police, Ravindradat Budhram also delivered remarks and assured that the equipment will be used to bolster road safety.