Driving School Association Fires One Back at LTA
“If LTA wants to bring change, they need to consult us first and not make decisions on their own,” he said.
Monday 22 January 2024 | 16:00
Fiji Driving School Association president Asish Prasad (sitting, second from left) with representatives from Consumer Council of Fiji, Fiji Care and Association members during their Annual General Meeting (AGM) on January 21, 2024. Photo: Beranadeta Nagatalevu
Members of the Fiji Driving School Association expressed their disappointment about the absence of the Land Transport Authority’s (LTA) during their annual general meeting (AGM).
The AGM on Saturday sought the attendance of representatives from LTA, Consumer Council of Fiji, Fiji Care and Association members.
FDSA president Asish Prasad emphasised the importance of LTA representation as the main stakeholder’s presence during the Q&A session, which members eagerly anticipated.
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“We are disappointed with them at this point,” Mr Prasad said.
“The executives cannot answer on behalf of the LTA, so he should’ve waited until the Q&A was over."
"There was no early notice about him leaving early, so it was out of our control,” he said.
“We had issues concerning the theoretical and practical part of driving lessons, the membership of a driving school came up during the AGM that all instructors involved in the driving school must have a licence."
Mr Prasad said, LTA driving coordinator, Isikeli Kama had notified a few minutes after his presentation to be excused as he had to attend to a church commitment.
He emphasised the need for LTA’s response to the recent issue of customer service officers (CSO) issuing driving permits without proper training and tests.
“I had taken onboard two or three students for driving and they told me they had a driving licence before, but when I asked what happened, they refused to tell me,” he said.
“We found out later, that some of the LTA CSOs’ were initiating this without anyone knowing.”
Mr Prasad said there was a loophole in the system which needed to be addressed before they could move forward.
“If LTA wants to bring change, they need to consult us first and not make decisions on their own,” he said.
Other issues
Concerns were raised regarding the existence of driving schools in Nausori that were still operated by instructors without licence permits.
Suresh Driving School instructor Suresh Chand confirmed that the company had been operating for two to three years.
“This was brought very recently to our attention and we have notified the relevant authorities to look into the matter,” he said.
“The owner of the company, who now lives in New Zealand, has people operating the company here."
"Apparently, those who are signing the workbooks, carrying out the theoretical instructions, and conducting driving tests all have no licence permit and this is a concern for us, especially given the increasing road accidents that Fiji has been facing,” Mr Prasad claimed.
“We are hoping that something will be done about this because these kinds of issues paint a bad picture of diving schools here in Fiji.”
Mr Prasad said all discussions from the AGM would be sent to LTA for their response and potential modifications.
Questions sent to LTA remained unanswered when this edition went to press.
LTA media liasion officer Geraldine Panapasa had requested more time to verify the report.
The meeting was held at Rishikul Sanatan College in Valelevu, Nasinu.
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