Senior Reporter
derek.achong@guardian.co.tt
The Tobago Maxi Taxi Owners and Drivers Association has called on Transport Commissioner Clive Clarke to disclose information related to the granting of maxi taxi licences.
Lawyers representing the association’s president Cloyd Williams made the request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) in a legal letter sent to Clarke on Wednesday. In the correspondence, obtained by Guardian Media, attorney Johanna Richards claimed that there is a systematic and significant delay in processing applications for permits to own and operate maxi taxis in Tobago.
Richards claimed that several of the association’s members and members of the public had properly submitted applications under the Maxi Taxi Act over the past year.
“In many, if not all instances, applicants are yet to receive a decision from you on their respective applications, most of which have been submitted to you in excess of one year and ongoing,” she said.
She suggested that Clarke’s purported “unreasonable” delay in processing the applications affected the applicants as well as citizens living in Tobago.
“The domino effect of your unlawful delay negatively impacts the lives of Tobagonians who have the right to be treated equally, with dignity and respect,” she said.
“For instance, children struggle to obtain transport to attend schools, citizens cannot access adequate transport to attend their various health clinics and appointments and their access to other public services is being hindered due to your lethargic and unlawful conduct,” she added.
Richards also suggested that there was no good reason for Clarke’s alleged delay in exercising his statutory functions.
“The nature of your legislative functions is not complex, and as such, there cannot be any reasonable and/or rational explanation for the continued delay in making a decision on the said applications before you, more so in light of the fact that the applicants have duly submitted the requisite documentation,” she said.
Richards also claimed that such delays do not occur for applications made for maxi taxi routes in Trinidad.
She claimed that when her client met with Clarke in the past, he promised to provide a list of the approximately 60 applications that were pending before him but failed to do so.
Richards requested the disclosure of all policies related to the issuance of permits for Tobago, and information on the number of pending applications.
She gave Clarke 30 days in which to respond to the request and provide the requested information before a lawsuit over the issue is filed.
Williams and the association are also represented by Kiel Taklalsingh, Stefan Ramkissoon, Naveen Maraj, and Rajiv Sochan.
