OFFICIAL CORRUPTION AT ROAD TRAFFIC AUTHORITY

 

The Road Traffic Authority is currently struggling and sinking as a result of grave incompetency and lack of foresight from the Office of the Chief Executive Officer. The demise is exacerbated by a lot of administrative issues ranging from blatant abuse of funds – revenues and levy from MVIL- unsettled HR matters of existing and former NRSC and RTA officers; gross abuse of Office, manipulation of due processes and procedures; and non-compliance to certain enabling legislations (Public Finance Management Act 1995; Public Service Management Act 1995; Road Traffic Act 2014(with amendment). The incumbent, Mr. Nelson Terema appears to be an inchoate bureaucrat lacking foresight and management skill thereby derailing the rightful functions of the Authority.

 The RTA is now into its Ninth (9th) year in operation since its establishment and nothing tangible has been achieved at the national level. There is no major KPI or project of national importance being achieved; even its own structure was never funded filled. The RTA currently doesn’t have a Corporate Plan since 2019 to guide the operations. The CEO deliberately, or by seer lack of knowledge, subjugates the structure and employees, thereby decapitating the organization.

 Despite generating a yearly revenue of almost K10million since 2016 when new fees under Fees and Charges Regulations 2017, the Management has plundered and looted most of the funds through pay cash withdrawals and payment to suspicious cronies whose service provision could not be proven beyond reasonable doubt.  The RTA exist only as a myth to the Government and the people of PNG. All provinces are left idle (only few have signed MOU with RTA) and no contacts are continuing. Enforcement of traffic laws throughout the country is diminishing due to lack of training given to provincial traffic officers. Awareness on new laws are barely undertaken thereby leaving the citizens ignorant. Despite collecting all revenues under revenue heads for all land transport services preciously received by Department of Transport with the five percent (5%) levy from MVIL, nothing tangible has been achieved in commensurate with the expenditure of these funds. Due to lack of yearly work   plan and budget, a lot of the revenue generated is embezzled for personal use under dubious schemes, the most prominent being the hire of vehicles at costs over and above the rates approved by the Department of Finance. There are unsettled issues with former NRSC and current RTA Staff regarding entitlements, of which some officers have sought redress from the Ombudsman in 2016, while others have sought legal assistance in 2020 to sue the Authority. The CEO, despite his powers, centralizes all decision making powers solely to be utilized for his self-enrichment. Besides the unscrupulous corrupt actions of the CEO, he has employed cunning techniques to suppress and oppress employees. All these actions have been ongoing since Terema’s tenure as Director NRSC and as CEO RTA.

 The increased fees under the RTA laws and regulations meant increased revenues from transport services and Traffic Infringement (TIN) charges. The RTA started enforcing the new regime of fees and charges on the 1st of June 2018 thereby generating so much revenue to save and fund its structure. All revenues received by MVIL from motor vehicle registration and driver licensing from 1st June 2018 onward are RTA revenues by law but hasn’t been paid to RTA yet because of Terema’s historical record of abuse of funds under NRSC and now RTA. A lot of the revenues projected to be received from all provinces (under MoU), logging sites, mining camps, use of weighbridge, and from interprovincial licenses are left out because of lack of carriage of the activities. RTA is only known in the NCD, not in other provinces.

MR WILLIAM PENIAS, FORMER ACTING CEO RTA ACCUSED OF CONSPIRACY TO DEFRAUD

 Mr. William Penias, while Acting CEO RTA in 2020, is alleged to have conspired with the then-former CEO Mr. Nelson Terema to defraud RTA of public funds to the tune of more than K1.6 million. Mr. Penias, by virtue of his Acting appointment, was the chief accountant of the Authority by default of operation. As the incumbent CEO at that material time, he failed to take necessary preventive measures to prohibit unlawful application of RTA funds, and instead allowed Mr. Terema to sign cheques which was illegal.  

 Mr. Penias failed in his entirety and gave Mr. Terema unhindered access to all facilities, including finance powers, thus making the Acting CEO a party to the abuse and misuse of funds. Mr. Penias, by all his actions and motives, conspired and collaborated with Mr. Terema to embezzle RTA funds, thus conspired to defraud the State pursuant to Section 407 of the Criminal Code Act. He is subject to face an indictable charge under the laws of the State, including the possibility for referral in accordance with the organic Law on Duties and Responsibilities of Leadership.  

 There should not be any reason by law for both Mr. Terema and Mr. Penias to embezzle funds, a staggering K1, 600,094.00, within a space of less than three months (Oct-Dec 2020). It is unbecoming of a Government agency to withdraw a lot of cash in a day on a continuous basis. This is fraud.

 Mr. Penias was a former employee of MVIL. He was terminated for vehicle fraud. He has a past history of fraud which caused his job. Mr. Terema recruited him as Manager Registration for RTA. This demonstrates that both Terema and Penias are acquaintance prior to Penias joining RTA only to commit a similar fraud crime. Both are “brothers in crime”.  

 NOTES

 The Authority was established in 2014 through an Act of Parliament (Road Traffic Act 2014) purposely to streamline and amalgamate all functions of the Land Transport Division of the Department of Transport and those of the National Road Safety Council (NRSC).

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