The search is now on for those people who provided false information and made false declarations to get taxi permits.
The Land Transport Authority is calling on all members of the public to come forward with information, so that LTA may conduct necessary investigations and ensure that only those Fijians who are eligible under the law can apply and receive taxi permits.
LTA has already stated that it has been brought to their attention that some applicants for taxi permits, who were awarded provisional taxi permits by LTA at Girmit Centre in Lautoka last Saturday, have allegedly provided incorrect or false information in their applications in order to obtain such taxi permits.
LTA says under the Crimes Act, a person commits a summary offence for any false declaration for the purposes of receiving a benefit and is punishable by law which includes imprisonment for one year.
LTA is calling on people who provided false information to LTA in his or her application and who was awarded the provisional taxi permit letter last Saturday, to immediately return the provisional taxi permit letter to LTA by no later than the 21st of this month.
Failure to do so will result in criminal prosecution under the Crimes Act.
Following the LTA’s statement, National Federation Party Leader Professor Biman Prasad said that deserving applicants have been denied a permit while those well above the household income threshold of $20,000 have allegedly benefitted and received permits.
Professor Prasad says LTA must tell the public how did those who allegedly did not qualify were put into the lottery that the Attorney General and Minister for Economy described as most transparent.
The NFP Leader says there is no use threatening permit recipients with Crimes Act when the Attorney General, who shouldn’t have been there in the first place but did so because he was allegedly electioneering, was blindfolded and to draw the names.
Professor Prasad says in this case, Government and the Attorney General have become the butt of laughter and dislike because of the haphazard manner in which this lottery was conducted.
LTA Chairman Vijay Maharaj says the applicants had to comply with the criteria, they have to be Fiji citizens, must not own any taxi permit, household income has to be below $20,000, and they had to declare an oath that the statement provided is true and correct. Maharaj says there were 5,000 applications and after checking the forms, it came down to 2,300.
He says an independent committee then reviewed the applications and this went to 2,200.
Maharaj says the total number of available number of taxi permits was 1,500.
He says the 2,200 names went in the barrel for the draw for the 1,500 taxi permits.
Maharaj says there is nothing political in this as there were some dishonest people who made false declarations to get the taxi permits.
Maharaj says there was no political plan to have those people’s names in the draw who earn above $20,000.
We are trying to speak to Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum.
