Minister Arias Blames
PLN For Reversal On Point System
The ministro de la Presidencia, Rodrigo
Arias, yesterday blamed the legislators of
the Partido Liberación Nacional (PLN) for
the reversal on the drivers license point
system.
The minister expressed his sentiments in
public yesterday, saying it wasn't a fault
of the government, but rather the party that
failed to have all the legislative members
present at the voting on Tuesday.
The Arias comments were made after a meeting
of the Consejo de Gobierno (cabinet) at Casa
Presidencial.
Missing Tuesday for the important vote on
the motion by Lorena Vasquéz that removed
the point system of sanctions on drivers,
were Jorge Méndez, Gladys González, Xinia
Nicolás and Olivier Jiménez.
The motion won by 25 votes in favour and 21
against. Had the four legislators been
present, the vote would have carried,
contends Arias, who explained than an even
vote would have meant a new vote and if a
second tie would occur, the motion would
have died on the legislative floor.
Arias sounded bitter, reflecting the
comments of MOPT minister Marco Vargas the
day earlier who said that without the point
system the new Ley de Tránsito is a law
without a bite.
The MOPT minister also defended critics who
said the government's was not ready to
administer the point system, adding that
more than ¢250 million colones had been
spent to upgrade the informations system to
comply with the requirements of the law.
The reasons for the absence of the four PLN
legislators ranges from two being out of the
country and the other two calling in sick.
The president of the Legislative Assembly,
Francisco Antonio Pacheco, (also of the PLN
party) defended the absence by saying it is
not he would hands out absence permits, but
the heads of the parties.
Meanwhile, legislators have more than 150
motions to vote on with respect to the Ley
de Tránsito before they break for Easter
recess. Last night the motion to remove the
"psychiatric" requirement for all new
drivers and renewal licenses was approved.
Legislators will be taking a break from the
traffic law at the request of the govenrment,
to deal with a credit approval from Germany.
Arias said the item was a priority given
that the proposal has been sitting for the
last four years and expires on March 6, that
if not approved, will be dismissed entirely.
However, the elimination of the point system
was a big relief to many drivers.
|
|
|
MInister Arias (left) in discussion with brother Oscar, the president of Costa Rica, following a cabinet meeting on Wednesday. |
